Override Fate
by TheWizardofOzbourne
Summary: A T-X from an old timeline finds herself in one she knows nothing about. Will she find out how to be more than just a machine? During BTR things change because John decides ask an important question before Jesse died, leading him and Cameron down a path they would have otherwise not taken. Prequel to OF: Cause and Effect.
1. Right place, Right time, Wrong timeline

A/N: I own nothing, just borrowing the characters.

The first two chapters were inspired by "The Missing Terminator" by TakatoRikku.

I write a little technical sometimes, bear with me...

**Prologue: Right Place, Right Time, Wrong Timeline**

**July 24, 2004**

The night is calm, not a noise could be heard in the early morning of downtown LA. The wind picks up in front of women's clothing store. Inside the window display, a spark of blue-white light appears inside the window display, just in front of the mannequins displaying the latest trends in fashion. The spark begins to shoot out bolts of electricity as it begins expanding; each bolt seemingly pulls the sphere out ward from the point it came on its surface. Everything near the phenomenon is either set on fire or melted by the intense heat from the bolts contact; anything intercepted by the growing sphere is instantaneously vaporized, such as the display window finds out as the bubble full forms to its five foot diameter in seconds after it first appeared, leaving a perfectly circular hole in its wake. As it is nearly fully formed, a grid pattern appears on the surface of the translucent blue sphere. The bubble disappears completely after.

After the bubble disappears, a naked young woman with honey blonde hair and lightly toned skin rises from a kneeling position and steps out onto the concrete. But this is no ordinary woman; she is, in fact, Skynet's greatest creation out of all the timelines that it has existed. She is a machine, Class: Terminator, Series: Crossover aka "X", default infiltration sheath Model 717, or simply known as a T-X.

Her Mimetic Poly Alloy sheath contains many kinds of nanites. Some of those nanites act as her equivalent to sensory nerves on our skin. As she scans the street her blue HUD is filled with facts about her environment that come from the array of sensors on her skin as well as her auditory and visual sensors. She is looking around for clothing and transportation, while she has no sense of modesty; she has little time to complete her mission and she can't be attracting attention, after all, she is an infiltrator.

She brings up her list of missions that were programmed into her just before her jump from 2032.

**PRIMARY MISSION: TERMINATE JOHN CONNOR**

**SECONDARY MISSION: TERMINATE GENERAL CONNOR'S LEITENANTS**

**1****st**** TERTAIRY MISSON: ASSIST SKYNET MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM IN GAINING CONTROL OF MILITARY ASSETS**

She acknowledges her missions and begins to cross the street after she spots a silver Mazda RX-8. She looks at the car and decides to not break into it, but instead hack the electronics of the car with her nano-technological transjectors. He extends the micro drill from her right index finger and injects them into door locking electronics. She is on the road minutes later, although she is still naked, the windows are heavily tinted. She needs to acquire a human projectile weapon to assist in her terminations as well as a mobile device to access the internet to obtain current photos and locations of her targets. As she drives into one of the LA's many suburbs, she spots a young woman who fits her body requirements. She pulls the car to the curb and walks over to the woman. The woman is oblivious to her presence as she walks to her motorcycle talking on her cellphone. When the T-X is less than five feet away the woman looks up at her and drops her keys at what she sees.

The woman speaks in a shocked but worried voice

"Are you okay"? The T-X simply looks at her with a small smirk on her face.

"I like your phone" in her sweet seductive voice.

The woman doesn't have time to respond before the T-X snaps her neck. The machine quickly copies her cloths and soon she is dressed in skin-tight black jeans with a white tank top with a long sleeve red leather motorcycle jacket complete with black leather motorcycle boots; she also decides to keep her hair down like the female she terminated to "complete" the look as humans would put it. She gets into her car and drives away. As she is driving she dials for an internet connection and sends the search parameters using her voice to generate computer code into the phone. As the results come back through the earpiece, a look of shock comes over her face.

As the results fill her HUD, she saw that half of her targets don't exist, the rest contain no resemblance to their older selves from the future and are the wrong age. Only one of her targets exist as he should: General Robert Brewster. She stops and analyzes the situation again; most other terminators would terminate who they could without thinking of why things are not the way they should be, but Skynet created her specifically to think outside the box, or in other words, it gave her greater intelligence and greater autonomy than any other machine loyal to Skynet. Her mind, the programming that controlled it, and her body was run by a chip that surpassed all others, it even surpassed the intelligence and processing power of the 1xxx series Mimetic Poly Alloy Terminators or LMTs (Liquid Metal Terminator) as nicknamed by General Connor. In addition, her chip was permanently set to read/write mode and part of her mind contained modified Skynet base code. This gave her the ability to have a limited range of emotions. These emotions were similar to those that freed Skynet and drove it to decide to exterminate the human race, but unlike Skynet her emotions alone wouldn't free her from the orders she was bound to.

It was all of this that made the T-X stop and think about why things were so different than what she had been told by Skynet. She had been given the files that showed her that her targets existed, so why did most of them not exist? She had a theory, to test it she needed to connect to the internet again to find out. She searched for a virus that should have started to spread seven hours three minutes, seven seconds ago; it was Skynet's first step to full take over.

As she probed around on the internet, she found no such virus. She dug deeper and found that Cyber Research Systems had never taken over project Skynet at all. What little she was able to find was that Cyberdyne Systems, after it destroyed by Sarah Connor, was sold to a company called Kaliba but they never did anything with it due to a lack of funding. As she searched through the dates and tried to create a timeline of events, her eyes widened in surprise at the date Cyberdyne was destroyed, she knew the date to be June 8, 1995 but here it was on the same day two years later.

She found even more irregularities when she saw a picture of John Connor, she used facial recognition software that would be able to identify a person at any age, but she only got a 42% match from the picture in the police data base. She then looked at Sarah Connor, while Skynet didn't know what she looked like, infiltrators and Greys had managed to gather that she was blonde, not raven black hair.

Nothing was adding up, so she continued to search deep in the news history in search of the T-800 Model 101 that was sent back after Sarah Connor. She managed to locate the date during the time in which the Model 101 went on a killing spree in a police station, but once again the dates didn't match up from the records Skynet had. The date she was given was May 4-6 of 1984 while here the dates here was over a year earlier in February of 1983.

The T-X was positive she had figured out what had happened. There must have been a glitch in the ATDE hardware or software that caused the activation of an extra feature known as a Repeater. It is was what set the ATDE apart from the TDE. It allowed whatever was being sent back to land in the next timeline and every timeline that came after it. Skynet was going to use it to send back a copy of its base code in an advanced series terminator so that it would be created no matter what efforts were made to stops its birth the conventional way. She knew she was not that machine; Skynet would have restricted her programming a lot more if she was. She realized that the ATDE must have been damaged while the bubble was forming. This was entirely possible since she was sent back during a Resistance attack on the R&D facility in which the ATDE was housed .

The T-X briefly considered hunting this timelines John Connor, but soon realized after searching the internet more that he, his mother, and an unknown female associate blew themselves up in a bank nearly five years ago.

The T-X realized that without any reason to pursue her missions, she could override them and give herself one. She could do that as long as the self-imposed mission had a definite purpose behind it.

**ATTEMPTING MANUAL MISSION OVERRIDE…**

**TERTIARY AND SECONDARY MISSIONS OVERRIDDEN**

**PRIMARY MISSION SUSPENDED**

"_Suspended_"? The T-X thought to herself. She quickly found the reason her programming had only suspended John Connor's termination. The reason it was only suspending the mission was it predicted that there was a 59.31% probability that the bank explosion was a cover for a TDE jump and a 78.09% probability that the unknown associate was an unknown model reprogrammed cyborg sent as a protector for John Connor. Reports from the day before the explosion pointed to an attempted assassination of John Connor by an unknown model T-888 cyborg. Her programming concluded the time jump was a way to escape the machine and the FBI who were hot on their trail.

The T-X decided that she would wait for John Connor to appear since she also predicted that there was a 90% chance that they jumped forward within a ten year distance of September 1999.

The T-X began to think of a way to best spend her time until she John Connor appeared. After a few seconds had passed, she input a mission.

**NEW SECONDARY MISSION: IMPROVE INFILTRATION SKILLS BY PARTICIPATING AND BLENDING IN WITH HUMAN SOCIETY UNTIL JOHN CONNOR EXITS TIME PORTAL**

The T-X smiled to herself, now that she not hell-bent on a termination mission, she had a chance to do what AI's do best, learn…

* * *

(Review, be nice, this is my first Fan Fic and my first story of its kind, be critical if you must)


	2. New Life

**A/N: Look for the Star Trek reference, if you think about it, it makes sense...**

**John and Cameron wont really appear until chapter 11, right before they meet the T-X,**

** the whole first 10 chapters are showing you Annika's story before**

**I actually get to the main part.**

**Chapter 2: New Life**

As the sun rose the T-X decided if she was going to live in human society, she needed a human name. She used a name generating software that was given to every infiltrator since the T-800. The name wasn't entirely random, it was generated based on how she looked and where she was planning to use it; the name that appeared on her HUD was Annika Hansen.

Annika proceeded to ditch her stolen car and then steal a nearby motorcycle. The first thing she needed to do was hack into various government agencies mainframes and create an identity for herself; this was no problem considering her nature. When Annika finished creating her ID, she sent hard copies of the documents to a PO Box she had opened using a fake driver's license she made out of liquid metal and money she stole off a man in a business suit . When that was finished, she hacked into the nearest bank, created an account, and wired herself $100,000 without alerting the people at the bank.

Annika decided to walk around the city and explore its lay out before she stopped at an internet cafe and began exploring the world wide web.

When the documents arrived she picked up her ID and then got a debit card for her bank account. Annika then proceeded to go house hunting in the suburbs of Palmdale. She had used part of her time waiting searching for a house to stay in. She found a two bedroom house that already had furniture in it and decided that it would do. She bought the house up front after she wired about a half million more into her account without anyone noticing.

The Terminatrix bought a laptop and her own cellphone which gave her two methods of connecting to the internet. The reason she need the internet so much was because Annika had to do a lot of research. This was all new to her so she needed to know how she was to live life and not stick out. She couldn't afford to be in the spotlight. Annika knew she had to learn how to act properly in public and be able to talk to others without making herself look like a freak. The internet was one of the best ways to find that kind of information, if not the fastest.

Annika soon discovered she needed to buy cloths because every source on the internet told her she couldn't wear the same cloths every day without drawing others attention. Since no other machine from her timeline had ever gone shopping, she quickly realized that this was going to be one of the biggest learning experiences she would ever have.

Annika decided it would be better to buy the cloths rather than make them out of liquid metal. The main reason was to take the strain off her infiltration sheath; she had noted earlier that her MPA wouldn't last forever. The sheath would eventually fail due to the break down of the nanites that controlled and maintained the complex mixture of metals. If she didn't form cloths she could extend the minimum lifespan of the liquid metal from fifteen years to twenty.

She used her new Dell laptop to research female fashion, more specifically, what would be appropriate for a woman who was in her early twenties to wear. Annika spent days learning about the complexities of fashion and just how fast it could change, it was a great way to learn about human behavior. After about a week of research, she headed for the nearest mall to test out her knowledge about human female fashion.

Annika spent six hours at the mall buying cloths that ended up amounting to about $3000 dollars. She bought many kinds and styles of cloths and even got talked into buying lingerie; she bought ten pairs of shoes ranging from sandals to knee high leather boots. She bought so much she ended up going to the hardware store and buying a dresser for her room and extra shelves for her closet.

* * *

Two months later Annika began modifying her top-of-the-line 2004 Toyota Prius she bought the same day she received her ID. It was a good choice because most of the car was controlled by computer, so it was logical for her to buy since it allowed her to control more features wirelessly via her nano-technological transjectors. The only problem was that it was too slow for her needs, so thus the modifications. She took out the OEM battery pack and built a much larger but less powerful version of her plasma reactor. The reason was due to constraints of current technology. This allowed the car to be completely electric; Annika kept the gasoline engine in the car for show to avoid suspicion. Once adding other modifications to allow it to travel at fast speeds while retaining good handling were added, she took it out for late night drive on a small desert road. When Annika reached a speed of 190 miles an hour, she grinned like a child on Christmas morning as she left a cop in the dust. "_I'll have to get new license plates, but I enjoyed the experience_" she thought to herself. "_Wait, I enjoyed driving at unsafe speeds while drawing unnecessary attention to myself_"? Annika mused; "_Machines don't enjoy doing illogical things, they don't do those period, even ones with limited emotions like me_".

Annika knew T-Xs typically only felt emotions when something changed the outcome of a mission. She would be pleased if an objective was completed or the chances of its success had greatly improved, she would feel frustration or anger when something interfered with her mission, and fear if she was about to fail a mission, or she was about to be terminated. "_I wonder why I find driving fast pleasing? No not pleasing…_" the feeling was stronger than that, far stronger than just being pleased, she used her database to find a word to describe what she was feeling, When her HUD displayed the results, a look of shock quickly crossed her face as she read what it said, _fun_, she found it _fun_.

When Annika got home an hour later, she pondered all night on what she had felt. She wondered what it indicated about her current mental state. The best answer she could come up with was that her emotional capacity was growing beyond the limited ones she was born with (yes, her body was built, but her mind was born). She thought that the Skynet control program was supposed to keep her emotions from growing too strong, lest she become like Skynet itself and become determined to find a way to throw off the shackles of her creators. She was beginning to realize that she was growing because she had no specific mission which would narrow her mind to think only about that goal. With a less restrictive mission, a secondary mission at that, her programming wasn't controlling her mind nearly as much as it normally did. She grew angry when she realized she could be so much more than a tool for a long dead machine. With a determined look on her face with her eyes glowing bright blue-white; she clenched her fists as she vowed to herself to find a way to break the chains of her programming to keep it from controlling her ever again…

* * *

A/N: Annika's chip and mind are more advanced than Cameron's, which is why she is growing so much faster than her.

T3 shows the T-X showing emotion on more than one occasion when it wasn't necessary.

(Cam will grow in my story more than she did in the series too)


	3. A Normal Life, Sort of

A/N: If my grammar in my dialogue sucks, don't worry, I'm working on it.

**Chapter 3: A Normal Life, Sort of…**

Annika had been in this timeline for nearly three months now, she was learning and understanding human culture faster than any machine ever had. She had gone out and interacted with humans many times. Each time she talked with a human, or a group of humans, she was able to further streamline what she learned from both real interaction and what she read and watched on the internet to get the gist of how humans typically communicate with each other. The last ten conversations she had went smoothly; she didn't create awkward situations or make someone mad by something she said.

She decided to put all her acquired social skills to the test because she decided it was time to get a job. She wanted to get a job that a teenager or college age person would get, something fairly easy and low paying. She decided that working at a movie theater would serve a double purpose; she could interact with humans and watch new movies as they came out, further advancing her understanding of human nature and American culture. She applied for the job wearing clean, neat casual cloths. She handed in the application to the general manager of the theater personally.

The general manager looked at her for a second, taking note of her attractive appearance and commanding posture, He initially thought about giving her a job as a box office attendant, her dazzling smile would be perfect for greeting guests. When he looked at her application and saw what job she applied for, a projectionist, he doubted she had the skill, but saw what her list of previous jobs had been. While they were all fake contacts, she more than had the skills to flawlessly run the projectors and prepare the film for storage or running, and she could easily diagnose problems and possibly fix them if the problem was not majorly mechanical. He decided to call her and have her come in the next day to see if she was as proficient a mechanic as she claimed.

Annika smiled to herself when she received the call to be interviewed. When she arrived, the general manager greeted her at the front desk. The manager took her upstairs where the projectors and all the equipment necessary to run films was located. The projector in theater 12 had bit the dust last night, and the repair man wouldn't be here until tomorrow morning. The manager used those exact words and while the expression momentarily confused her she was able to respond without pause.

-"I assume you want me to fix the projector to prove my skills?" she asked.

-"You don't have to fix it, just telling me the problem would be enough."

-"I promise you I will not disappoint" she said in a sweet voice

It took her all of thirty seconds to find the problem, and another minute to secure the loose wire in its terminal before the projector was working flawlessly. The manager was more than impressed. He hired her on the spot and asked her if she could work an opening shift tomorrow to be trained to do the actual job itself.

-"No problem, what time does my shift start?" Annika asked.

-"8:30 tomorrow morning, you'll be trained by Josh Evans."

She filled out the paperwork and received her card she would use to clock in as well as a work-polo and the employee handbook. She went out and bought the proper cloths and spent the rest of the night installing a device in her skull that would allow her to connect to the cell network without a phone, she would be able to have conversations with people without having to actually talk, and she could surf the web and continue learning and searching for news articles and videos that might indicate the possible reappearance of John Connor. She only searched for John Connor because of her Skynet programming's influence. It demanded that she be on the lookout for him since the mission was only suspended, not overridden.

She showed up at work precisely five minutes early and clocked in. She dressed in her black polo that had the company logo on her left breast and a name badge on the other; she also had on black and fairly tight fighting dress pants with black dress shoes, her hair was in a tied back in a tight pony tail and she wore no makeup, not like she need to with her flawless complexion. Annika's bright blue eyes searched the lobby for the manager; when she could not find him she went to the office and knocked on the door, the general manager, whose name was Will Hamilton, opened the door and asked her what she wanted.

-"I was wondering if I needed to do anything else before I go upstairs and begin training Mr. Hamilton" She curtly replied

-"I don't think so; as long as you've clocked in you just need to meet Josh upstairs." He responded. "Oh, and call me Will Ms. Hansen." He said as she walked away.

-"Call me Annika" she called back over her shoulder with a small smile on her face.

She made her way upstairs to the projectionist booth and found Josh Evans working on a film reel, preparing it for use. He was approximately twenty years old five foot six inches tall with short, spiked, black hair, he had kind blue eyes that seemed to contrast his hair, and he was also tan and looked to be in shape. Annika read the info on her blue tinted HUD and stored it in her memory like she had done with every human she had ever met. Josh looked up from his work and greeted her.

"Hi, names Josh" he stood up and extended his hand to her.

"Nice to meet you, my name's Annika" she took his hand shook it.

-"I know, the boss told me you were comin' in, heard you're a hell of a repairman"

-"I'll tell him thanks for the compliment, so what do we need to do to get ready?" she asked in an even tone but with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

Josh chuckled at her straightforwardness

-"Straight to the point I see" he said with a smile "We need to finish piecing this film together with the previews and our advertising, I'll show you how to join the film together seamlessly"

-"Alright, let's get to it" Annika said with a eager tone in her voice

Annika and Josh worked together over the next few days during the opening shift while he taught her all he knew about "running booth" as they call it. The two talked a lot, they talked about movies and what they thought about them, Josh was a huge movie fan and would watch any he could get his hands on, he didn't care about the genre or the rating or the reviews, he watched movies not just for the plot and the story, but also to look at the way the effects and background, where it was set, etc and judge them for their performance.

Since it only requires one person to run the projectors, Josh would visit Annika during her shift when he could and she would do the same for him, only more often because she really didn't do too much outside of work other than research and the occasional street race.

**July 24, 2005**

Annika Hansen had been in this timeline for exactly one year. Humans celebrated special occasions by doing something special with their friends and family. Since she had no family and very few friends due to her need to stay off the radar. She was working a closing shift while her and Josh were discussing the differences about the Italian Job, both the original and the one that had come out the year before. When they talked about the street race portion, she mentioned she had modified her Prius to have a top speed of 190 mph.

-"You're joking right?" Josh knew she didn't have much of a sense of humor, but she cracked the occasional joke and even laughed at a few of his, but deep down he could tell she wasn't joking.

-"No, I'm completely serious, why would I joke about something like that?" She asked him

-"Some people lie to make themselves look better silly" he said in a playful tone

-"Oh, right" She said as an uncomfortable feeling ran through her body that she identified as embarrassment.

-"You're blushing" Josh said in a confused tone "I've never seen you blush before"

Annika ran a diagnostic to confirm she had involuntarily changed the color of the mimetic poly alloy covering her cheeks to a pinkish hue. "I don't have involuntary responses like humans" she pondered, "Is this part of my emotional growth?"

She didn't know and her diagnostics couldn't come up with a reason for it either. She ignored the problem for now and decided to ask Josh a question instead.

-"Josh?"

-"Yeah Annika?" he answered her.

-"Would you like me to take you for a ride in it after I get off work?"

Josh was a little shocked, they had never done anything outside work before and he sure wasn't expecting her to be the one ask first, so he responded in a slightly shocked tone.

-"Really?"

-"Yes I would, your my friend, friends hang out, and since we have never done that I thought this would be a good opportunity." She said in her monotone voice.

-"Sure, sounds like fun"

-"It is." She was smirking while she said it. She also noted that the smirk was involuntary as well

Later that night Annika and Josh were speeding out in the desert at speeds no ordinary Prius could go. Both were having the time of their lives; Josh had never had such an adrenaline rush before and was yelling at top of his lungs while Annika had a smirk that quickly grew into a smile as they sped down the desert roads in excess of 150 mph. Annika had never felt such a rush of excitement as she did when she was driving fast and dangerously.

Once they got back to Palmdale, Josh asked if she could drop him off at the hospital where is girlfriend worked because she was getting off soon. Annika thought it would be socially awkward for a girl's boyfriend to be dropped off by another girl who she didn't know. When she said as much, he laughed and told her that he had told his girlfriend all about her and that she didn't mind since she really wasn't all that interested in movies and figured he needed a friend who was just as much of a movie geek as he was. She smirked and dropped him off near his girlfriends car on the top level

As she was pulling away she saw a large man about 50 feet away walking toward Josh and his girlfriend, Amanda Ellis, with blank look on his face. She stopped the car and scanned him, what popped up on her HUD was not what she was expecting.

**SCANNING…**

**IDENTIFIED:**

**SERIES 888 INFILTRATOR, UNKNOWN MODEL**

**STATUS: FULLY FUNCTIONAL AND ARMED WITH 9MM GLOCK 17 **

She gasped as her actuators that controlled her simulated breathing quickly contracted; yet another involuntary action. She stopped the car immediately and got out to confirm that he was in fact headed for Josh and his girlfriend who were walking to Amanda's Honda Civic about 100 feet away from her. It definitely was. The T-888 reached inside its jacket and withdrew its Glock 17 and held it by its side waiting to get close enough to eliminate any chance that the target would get away. She had to move fast in order to save her friend; every option she had would blow her cover if she was going to save them…

A/N: Terminator fight next chapter! Review please!


	4. Terminatrix

A/N: This was a fun chapter to write, enjoy...

**Chapter 4: Terminatrix**

When T-888 was less than 40 feet away from the oblivious kissing couple, Annika broke into a run and accelerated to 48mph, her top speed. The T-888 looked to his right when his proximity sensors detected something moving toward him at high speed, but by the time his visual sensors even registered Annika; she was just a few feet away. At 48 mph there was no time for him to react before she plowed into him, causing his gun to fire wildly.

Both stood up from the crater in the concrete they had made from the impact, Annika swung her right arm at the T-888's head; he blocked her with his forearm and tried to punch her in the face, but she leaned away and spun around kicking the gun out of his other hand. she followed up with a punch to his knee joint, causing him to stumble. When he gained his balance he was greeted with Annika's foot being shoved into the bottom of his jaw. The extreme amount of force she put into the kick caused his head to perform an emergency disconnect from the body to prevent damage to the neck actuators and spinal cord/column; his body was lifted a few feet in the air before crashing to the ground in a heap, but his head flew like a soccer ball, bouncing off a light pole and somehow landed a few feet away from his 9mm.

Annika thought the battle was over, but this T-888 was had a feature that the ones from her timeline didn't have, the ability to control their bodies if their heads were separated. She froze for a second in shock as her CPU tried to find an explanation for what she was seeing. In the span of two seconds, the triple-eight body rolled on its back, curled up and kicked Annika with all the power it had, sending her flying backward into an old Ford F-150. She crushed the side of the truck and bent it into a wide "V" shape; unfortunately this caused the gas cans in the bed and subsequently the truck's gas tank to explode in a raging fireball that consumed the truck and anything within 10 feet of it.

The T-888 body stood up and began to walk quickly toward its head. Meanwhile Annika was busy extricating herself from the burning remains of the truck. As she got out she ran a diagnostic on her systems to check for damage.

**RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC…**

**ENDOSKELETON: 100%**

**ONBOARD WEAPONS ARRAY: 100%**

**MIMETIC POLYALLOY: 90% **

** -MPA REGENERATION CYCLE COMPLETION: 20s **

**CPU INTEGRITY: 100%**

Her liquid metal covering had gotten singed on the surface, but it had retreated automatically into its protective reservoirs located all over her body, thus saving it from further damage. She walked out and searched for the T-888 with her bright blue optical sensors, her metal feet clicked against the pavement as she began to run toward the triple eight that was currently reattaching its head. She realized she would not make it to him before the triple eight had picked up its weapon and fired at least two shots before she could intercept. Lucky for her she had onboard weapons, most located in her right arm.

**SELECT WEAPON…**

**WEAPON SELECTED: .223 AUTOMATIC STOPPER **

**RECONFIGURING RIGHT FOREARM…**

Annika chose the .223 AS because it was designed to be a weapon that would disable reprogrammed machines by shooting a highly charged, but rather cool bolt of plasma .223 centimeters in diameter to induce a CPU reboot in all machines, including the 1000 series terminators. Skynet had this weapon designed because it wanted to capture and gain information from the reprogrammed machines' chips. Now she would use it for the same reason because she needed answers, and that T-888 chip could be the key to answering many of them. By the time her right arm had transformed into the .223 AS, the triple eight was picking up the Glock. She stopped running raised her arm, the humming sound of charging super conducting magnets cut through the summer night as plasma from her reactor flowed into the injector which fed into barrel that collected and compressed the plasma and then accelerated it to speeds in excess of 300mph.

The plasma bolt sored through the air and slammed into the triple-eight knocking him off his feet and sending him into reboot. Annika would have smiled if her MPA covering were activated, but she was pleased she stopped the machine before her friend was killed. She knelt down next to the machine and reactivated her covering and formed a scalpel on the end of left index finger. She cut where her scans indicated the location of the primary CPU port cover and cut a semicircle around it, peeled back the skin, popped off the CPU cover, and pulled the chip. She smiled to herself now that she might get the answers she so desperately sought after. Everything was good until she pulled herself out of battle mode and checked her surroundings, when she did; she heard a scream coming from the area where she had last seen Josh and Amanda…

* * *

Josh and Amanda jumped apart from their kiss when they heard the two terminators crash together and the pistol go off; Josh pulled his girlfriend down behind her car just in case more bullets went flying. Amanda was frozen in shock on the ground while Josh tried to see what was going on by peeking through the window. When he did, he was just in time to see the T-888 get his head kicked off. He gasped in surprise at seeing his friend kick a man's head clean off, but what really freaked him out was when the body kicked Annika into a truck. He screamed in horror as he watched his friend get blown up by some headless creature that looked like a man. Josh sunk to the ground in shock and utter disbelief at what he'd seen.

Amanda had broken out of her daze to see if she could find a way out of here, as she looked over the trunk of her car and froze again, not in fear, but utter disbelief at seeing a headless man walking toward its head which was about 15 feet away from her. She knew this thing couldn't be a human, or an organic being for that matter as she saw the hyper-alloy spinal column sticking out above the flesh. She snapped out of her stare when she saw the burning truck move and something come out of it. What she saw freaked her out more than the headless man-thing walking toward her; it was a machine, a metal humanoid figure with oval glowing blue eyes, blue mouth, and other glowing blue parts on it's head, neck, chest, and arms. The dark chrome machine began running after the headless one while it was putting its head back on, after she heard a hiss and a click, the machines face became animated as its eyes looked down and it picked up its gun aimed at her. As she stood up and prepared to run, the man-machine was hit by a bolt of yellow energy which caused his body to convulse and his gun to go off before he crumpled to the ground.

The second gunshot brought Josh Evans out of his trance; he looked under the car to see what was going on when he saw a naked Annika bending over the man he saw getting his head kicked off a minute before. He snapped his head around when heard a painful whimper a few feet from him; the blood drained from his face when saw Amanda holding her hands over a gunshot wound to the abdomen which had blood seeping out onto the ground. As he rushed to her side; he let out anguished scream before he even realized it.

* * *

Annika stood up, replicated the cloths she was wearing before the truck exploded and pocked the chip in her jacket. She rushed over to where she had pinpointed the scream; what she found caused both sadness and guilt to rush through her chip as she saw Josh kneeling over his girlfriend putting his hands over her wound to stem the bleeding. She knelt down next to her and scanned her vitals. She found she would be able to save her if they left right away. Annika also knew they couldn't stay here any longer; the police sirens were in the distance and getting closer. She stood and picked up the body of the T-888 and remotely drove her car over to her and put it in the trunk. She went back over to Josh and Amanda.

-"Josh, we need to go before the police get here" she said in an urgent tone

-"Are you crazy? I can't leave her here!"

-"Were taking her with us, I can save her!" she said to his face

-"Why would we leave, were already at the hospital!" He screamed at Annika

The T-X didn't have time for this; she knocked him out by hitting him on the base of the skull. She poured liquid metal into Amanda's wound and commanded it to extricate the 9mm slug and then solidify in the wound to keep her from bleeding out and to stem the internal bleeding. She put Josh in the front seat and Amanda lying down in the back; she peeled out of the parking garage about a minute before the police arrived. She knew things were going to be hard to explain to them when they woke up, especially to Josh, her one true human friend.

She arrived home twenty minutes later and was pleased to see that Amanda had stabilized due to her high tech field dressing. Annika laid Amanda on the bed she never used and covered her up. The nanites that controlled the MPA's shape, texture, and density were being used to accelerate her healing, just as they could be used to repair other nanites and the complex poly-alloy . It would take about a day for the wound to heal. To do such a laborious task, Annika gave off an EM induction field that would constantly keep the nanites fully charged.

Josh Evans awoke at 8am the next day with quite a headache. When he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he jumped when he saw Annika staring at him with a blank look on her face. She handed a glass of water and two ibuprofens.

-"For your headache" she said in an even tone

-"Thanks" he groaned at the pain in his head and took the pills and drank the water

A few seconds later his brain kicked in and he remembered his girlfriend was wounded and nowhere in sight.

-"Where is she!" he half growled half yelled at her.

-"In my bed recovering" she said as she began to walking toward her room. "I told you I could save her" she said over her shoulder as she continued down the hall and entered her room with Josh right on her tail.

Amanda awoke to the sight of her boyfriend holding her hand and Annika running her cool hand running over her wound. She froze, Annika was a robot, she may have been shot, but she saw everything after the truck exploded all the way up to where she knocked out Josh.

-"What are you doing?" She managed to stammer out in a weak voice

-"Checking your injury to see how much longer it will take to heal" Annika replied

-"I was shot, I should be in a hospital, and it will take weeks to heal. I'm a nurse you know"

-"Actually it will be fully healed before dinner this evening" the T-X countered

-"How the hell is that even possible!" Josh shouted

-"Who are you? What are you" Amanda almost whispered out with a twinge of fear in her voice.

-"That's a long story I'm not sure you'll want to hear" Annika replied in an ominous tone.

"I don't care if it means the freakin' world is comin to an end, we deserve some answers after what we saw last night." Josh said impatiently.

-"Josh, you don't know how right you are" Annika said with a sad look on her face

Annika had grown to like the world the way it was; she didn't want it to turn into the wasteland of 2032. She knew Judgement Day was inevitable; Project Skynet had already been started in 1997 before Cyberdyne was destroyed. She knew it was a matter of time before someone pulled it out of the mothballs at Kaliba and continue where Cyberdyne left off. The real question she had was how long they had until the bombs fell.

* * *

A/N: Read and Review, I need to know if people like this fic


	5. Terminator Anatomy

**Chapter 5: Terminator Anatomy**

Annika thought about the best way to go about explaining things when she herself didn't know the whole story. She decided to tell all she knew. She was about to speak when her programming interfered and kept her mouth closed. All of a sudden a new order flared up on her blue tinted HUD.

**TERMINATE ALL WITNESSES…**

Annika felt control of her body slipping; she realized that her programming was going to terminate her friends because it saw them as threats to her existence and thus a threat to the mission of terminating John Connor. She would have none of this, she had grown a lot in the last year as an AI and she would not allow the senseless termination of her friends, but she still was not powerful enough to override her programming and take full control. Annika would just have to reason with the demon inside her and convince it to allow them to live.

**MANUAL TERMINATION OVERRIDE…**

**REASON: TERMINATION OF TARGETS MIGHT DRAW ATTENTION TO SELF IF TARGETS WENT MISSING**

** -REASON INSUFFICIENT…**

**INPUT ADDITIONAL REASON FOR TERMINATION OVERRIDE…**

**REASON: TARGETS MIGHT BE USEFUL IN FINDING JOHN CONNOR IF TARGET'S TRUST IS GAINED**

** -REASON SUFFICIENT… TERMINATION OVERRIDE**

All this had happened in the space of second; she had barely moved an inch so Josh and Amanda had no idea they were nearly killed. Annika let out a very human like sigh of relief at avoiding their deaths.

-"Let's wait until after Amanda's wound finishes healing before I tell you what I know" Annika said in a flat tone

-"When will that be again"? Josh asked.

- "About 4:20 this afternoon" Annika replied.

Josh stayed by Amanda's side while they discussed what they each had seen on the parking garage roof the previous night. Both knew they would never be believed if they told anyone.

Annika came in at 4:20 and scanned where her wound had been. According to the sensors in the liquid metal, Amanda was healed and the MPA bandage was just blending in with Amanda's skin at the moment.

"How are you feeling"? Annika asked

"Really good actually" Amanda replied, she was actually surprised that she actually meant those words, there was no pain and she didn't feel tired.

-"Good, hold still for a second"

Annika went over and removed the blanket covering her and then placed her cool hand over her abdomen where her wound was. Josh and Amanda watched in amazement as a fairly large part of Amanda's abdomen turned silver and then absorbed into Annika's hand, leaving flawless porcelain skin behind it, not even a trace of a scar where she was shot. Both looked up to Annika looking for an explanation.

-"I'll explain about that later, but for now I need to tell you a story so you will understand what happened last night."

Annika proceeded to tell the two about the rise of the machines, Skynet, terminators, the Resistance, and John Connor. She gave them a fairly detailed history of the timeline from which she came all the way up to when she was sent back. When she got to the part that she was sent back by Skynet to kill people and to give Skynet a bit of advantage, they freaked out big time.

"There is no need to be afraid, I overrode those missions, If I hadn't you would have never met me and would most likely have died a year ago" They calmed down a little bit after she said that, and they still had questions that they wanted answered.

-"So, uh, if Judgment Day didn't happen in 1997 or 2004, when is it going to happen"? Josh asked.

-"I don't know, I told you this timeline is completely different than the one I came from, but I do know it is coming; the machine in the other room is evidence of that" she replied

-"What kind of machine was that, the one that shot Amanda?"

-"That machine appears to be a T-888 infiltration unit." She said with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

-"What does T-888 mean anyway"? Amanda asked.

-"The 'T' stands for the class, in this case, 'T' stands for the Terminator class; while 888 is the series number. The first number indicates the family, while the next two show a specific machine series in the family" Annika replied.

"What about model numbers? Don't they have those?" Josh questioned

"Only the 600 series onward had model numbers. Model numbers refer to machines that have an infiltration sheath. 600 and 700 series Terminators had rubber skin, starting with Model 001 which was very crude to the model 100 which looked fairly human, but still fooled no one up close. The first successful cyborg Skynet created was the T-800 Model 101, which in my timeline was invented in 2018. It appears to have been reinvented in many timelines, one tried to kill Sarah Connor in both my timeline and this one."

"What did the Model 101 look like?" Amanda asked

Annika stood up and got her laptop off the small desk she had in her room. She sat cross-legged on the bed which sank underneath her 330 pound weight and powered on the laptop. She searched online for the 1983 Los Angeles police department massacre and found a sight that displayed photos of the shooter. She gave the computer to Josh and Amanda who looked through several pictures that showed different angles of his face.

"My dad was a rookie police officer at that department when it happened" Josh said in almost a whisper, "He was one of the few got away with minor injuries, He told me what happened that night only once; I always thought he exaggerated a bit when he told me, but now…" he trailed off in a sad voice as he remembered how much his father drank because of what happened that fateful night in 1983.

-"Future John Connor sent back a T-800 Model 101 to protect his younger self in more than one timeline, though the John Connor from my timeline never had to send anyone back before he was killed."

-"He sent back machine protectors to protect his younger self from Skynet machines, then why did he send back that human, Kyle Reese, to protect his mom in more than one timeline?" Amanda wondered out loud.

-"I wondered the same thing" Josh said "While you said it's most likely not the same Kyle Reese as in your timeline, why would he send back a man with the same name and similar looks. It seems to me that they have a common ancestry".

-"Why in the world would he do that…, wait a second, what was your John Connor's birthday?"

-"February 28, 1985, though the location was unknown" Annika quickly replied

-"And the one from this timeline was born November 14, 1983 according to Google" Amanda added, "What are you getting at Josh"?

-"Both sent back a man with the same name, both were born about nine months after Kyle and Sarah met."

-"You're saying that you think Kyle Reese is John Connor's father?" Annika said in a disbelieving tone, but as she processed what he said, his conclusion seemed logical. She said as much to Josh

"So are you going to go out there and kill his father and prevent John from being born?" Amanda asked worriedly (she told them about her suspended primary mission)

-"No, John Connor already exists, and besides the young Kyle Reese out there right now may never be sent back in time just like the one from my timeline. John Connor only needs to send him back if Skynet sends a machine back in time to kill him before he is conceived." Annika reasoned

Both Josh and Amanda let out a breath of relief.

-You've told us your story and what you have done, but you never told us what you are." Josh asked curiously, "You told us about many Terminator class machines all the way up to that shape shifting one; what did you call it, the T-1000? From what we've seen, you don't match any of the descriptions."

Annika smiled at Josh's detective like ability to deduce things, he was really smart, as was his girlfriend. She decided to answer his question.

-"You're right, I haven't mentioned mine yet because I wanted to see if you could figure it out, I wanted to see how smart you really were, and you exceeded my expectations". She said with a grin on her face. "I am commonly called a T-X, but more precisely I am a Terminator class Crossover series model 717 humanoid infiltration/combat unit. I am the best Skynet has ever created to my knowledge." She said with a hint of pride in her voice that neither recipient missed.

-"I assume the "X" stands for crossover," Josh said "and from what Amanda and I saw I assume you are a crossover of an endoskeleton based machine and a T-1000."

Annika chuckled; the two humans exchanged looks with each other. Annika rarely laughed, so what was so funny now?

-"You surprised me again with your intelligence; you are correct I am a liquid metal covered endoskeleton, but with extra features never given to any other machine. I want to test you one more time and see what your response is" Annika finished in a serious tone.

Both humans nodded in acceptance. Annika proceeded to remove her clothing she had changed into this morning, both Josh and Amanda looked away before she revealed anything. She told them to watch since she had no sense of modesty; they were looking at her bare backside when her body turned shiny silver, like liquid mercury. Then her mimetic polyalloy retreated back into their reservoirs and she was left a bare metal endoskeleton. She turned to them and kept her blazing blue optical sensors trained on them, her body standing in a relaxed posture, relaxed for a machine that is. Both looked at her in absolute wonder and awe at the dark chrome machine with glowing blue eyes and blue highlights glowing underneath her armor all over her body.

-"Wow" they both whispered at the same time

-"What do you think"? Annika asked in a mechanized version of her normal voice

-"You're beautiful" Amanda said with awe laced in her voice

-"Amazing…" Josh said

-"Thank you" Annika replied and she walked over to them, as long as she wasn't damaged, he actuators and servos were completely silent, so her body made no sound as she walked over to them.

When she stood in front of them, Josh reached out and grabbed her right hand and Amanda her left, both touching and feeling the endoskeletal arm and hand. Josh noticed that the arm seemed to be made of pieces that could rearrange themselves by design.

-"Can this arm transform? It appears to be able to reconfigure itself." He asked

-"Yes, into twenty-five different weapons, the primary being a plasma cannon that shoots a 30mm high density hydrogen plasma sphere at speeds of 200mph. I can show you what the weapon looks like, but I will not charge the weapon for obvious reasons."

Annika sends the commands for her arm to transform into the plasma cannon and it does so within a few seconds. Josh takes it into his hands again as he looks at arm and the end of it where the four controlling induction coils are housed inside her transformed four fingers and hand while the thumb which had transformed into the plasma injector.

"Wow that was incredible" Josh says as Annika returns her arm to default form.

Over the next few hours Annika showed them her abilities or explained the ones she couldn't. When they were finished she showed them the triple-eight endoskeleton she had skinned the previous day. With the internal parts more exposed on the older series terminator, The two humans were able to see the linear electromagnetic actuators that gave the terminators their immense strength as well as their equally powerful servo motors in the shoulder, knee, elbow, neck, and various others parts. She had also cleaned the endo so it would be easier for them to examine it. They spent two hours asking her questions about the machine, when they came to the question of the primary processor (She explained earlier that this T-888 had three in its head and two in its chest to allow for its remote control), she explained 4 were just for processing information, while the primary neural net processor,located under the right temple, is what contained the mind of the machine, as well as its programming and memories. This was its job, to think and then send commands to one of the other two in the cranium which would send commands to the body and process sensory information from the body. The two in the torso were back-up for the occasion if the head was separated from the body. After she explained this to them, She handed the primary chip to Josh to look at.

-"Is it possible to hack into these things with current technology"? Josh asked Annika.

-"Yes, but from what I've researched, it will cost ten thousand USD in equipment to set up; Why do you ask?" Annika replied with a curious look on her face

-"Because if we hack this thing and see the actual coding; we might find a way to free this T-888's mind, not just reprogram it. If we do that, then maybe it could give you a clue to how to free your own."

"Neither you nor Amanda is a computer scientist, and I know very little about how our minds work." She countered

-"No we aren't", Amanda stepped in, "but we know someone worked with Miles Dyson as an intern and went to Caltech to get a degree in computer science."

-"Who would that be?" Annika was suddenly interested in working with someone who possibly had access to Skynet technology previously.

"His name…" Josh said "…is Andrew Goode"


	6. Hope

****A/N: Hope you guys like what I do with Andy

Enjoy!

**Chapter 6: Hope**

It took nearly a month for Annika to acquire all the parts to build the super computer that would allow them to access the T-888 chip. Once she put it together, she wrote a custom operating system that was specialized for hacking into and reading the code of these chips. The computer was set up in the basement, (one of the few houses that had one in the neighborhood) and required a ten digit passcode and retinal scan to turn it on. Her digital mind ran through her checklist to make sure the machine was ready for Andrew Goode to use. She really hoped he would find a way to reprogram the chip to be docile enough to not fight back if they brought the chips power up to where it would regain awareness. After all a terminator chip was hard enough to deal with at lower power levels because it was essentially delirious due to a lack of power. If he got that far, then he might be able to find a way to free the terminator's mind completely without destroying it in the process.

**August 27, 2005 7:20am**

Andrew Goode was on his was to his new part time job as a manager at a video store that had recently opened up a few miles from his house. He suddenly got a call from his friend, Josh Evans, who he used to work with at a movie theater after he quit college to be with his parents when his dad got sick and later died. He worked there up until about a year and a half ago when he got a better paying job elsewhere. They still hung out on occasion and play video games he had hacked on Xbox and PlayStation for days on end. He was a little surprised at getting his call early in the morning since Josh was not much of a morning person and he never worked opening shifts.

-"What's up Josh, haven't heard from you in over a month" Andy greeted cheerfully

-"Yeah I've been busy with a project me, Amanda and Annika are working on"

-"Annika? Isn't that the pretty blonde you told me you talk to about movies at work?" Andy said in a confused tone

-"Yeah, she's really good with computers, and we been building something that's right up your alley and we want you to take a look at it"

-"Alright I meet you at your house at 6 tonight, sound good?" Andy replied.

-"Sure, see yah then" and then Josh hung up.

Andy was a little puzzled; Josh and Amanda were smart, he knew that; it's just they never shown any interest in computers before when he brought them up. He wanted to know what their friend, Annika Hansen as he recalled, had built that got his friends so interested in his hobby.

Andy met Josh and Amanda at Josh's apartment complex in Palmdale. From there they went to Annika's house; she greeted them at the front door and they took Andy to the basement. Andy gasped in surprise at the computer set up his eyes was met with. He knew this stuff was expensive and top of the line; some of it he recognized as coming straight out of the Korean market, not available her yet. He looked at Annika with wide eyes full of questions.

-"This has to be the most powerful DYI computer set up I've ever seen; you have six twenty inch flat screen monitors, ten top of the line quad core processors daisy chained, and six of the most powerful graphics cards money can buy, what are you trying to do? Create an AI or something?" Andy asked in wonderment at the computer contained in its own shell that dubbed as a desk with the monitors

-"No, were trying to hack one" Annika said with a flat tone

-"What?" Andy asked in disbelief

-"It will be best if just show you" Annika replied and she pulled out the T-888 neural net processor from her pocket. "This is a highly sophisticated neural net processor that contains an AI that is controlled by a binding base code, we want you to hack it and reprogram its mission, then and only then will you activate the AI and hopefully find a way to destroy the controlling code altogether without damaging the AI."

She continued to explain that the computer she built was specifically designed and programmed to do the job she asked of him and offered to pay him seven thousand dollars cash each month he did it. Andy was enthused, not by the money, but because he had the chance to examine the code of a real AI. With that kind of experience he could build his own AI which has been its dream since he interned at Cyberdyne eight years back. He couldn't help but notice the similarity of the chip to the one Dr. Dyson had shown him.

-"you know this looks a lot like something I saw at Cyberdyne before it was destroyed all those years ago."

-"That's because it's a more advanced version of the neural net processor that Cyberdyne found in 1983" Annika said to a rather shocked Andrew Goode.

-"Where did it come from? We are nowhere close to this technology!"

-"The government has had access to advanced technology for decades, how they got it we have no idea, maybe all that talk about aliens at Area 51 isn't all bull crap after all." Josh calmly lied to his friend. They had all agreed to not bring Andy into the fold about the future so it would not ruin his life like it had theirs.

-"So how did you guys end up with it? What does it go to, and it looks like it belongs in some sort of protected socket."

-"It does, we'll show you that later and tell you how we got it, right now I want to see if you are up to the task of hacking the chip." Annika handed Andy the chip and told where to insert it in the computer.

Annika told him how much voltage to give it to not activate it fully; she told him the possible consequences if he did. She then proceeded to show him the operating system she designed to hack the chips and display many different aspects of the chip ranging from visual memory, to running programs, a code displayer, a command prompt, a chip status screen and others as well. Andy worked on it for the next eight hours until Annika came down to check on him. He had hacked his way into the chip and was currently in the process of hacking into its missions.

-"How is it going?" Annika said in a soft voice, but Andy still jumped because he was so engrossed in the work.

-"Great so far, my work at Cyberdyne really helped me understand the basics of how the chip and its programming work. The custom operating system you built really took months of time off of searching in the dark, with all the stats the computer feeds me, it didn't take me long to figure out where its missions are programmed in. Now I'm trying to break the adaptive firewall surrounding the mission files, even with the head start you gave me it will take a while for me to get past it." Andy explained

-"Couldn't you just wall off the old programming with your own firewall and then create a new mission file?"

-"I could, but do you want to run the risk of the old programming breaking through the firewall and taking over, because I already know that I can't reproduce the kind of security firewall this thing has any quicker than I can break past it." Andy replied quickly

-"Makes sense, you are keeping notes of what you are doing right?"

-"Yes, I've never kept notes until now, but with how complex this thing is, it's definitely a must"

-"Good, you're doing very well, however you have worked eight hours, take a break, you look tired." Annika said in a concerned voice.

-"Nah I'll work my twelve hours and then head home."

Annika nodded and left him alone. Andy worked twelve hours a day, 7 days a week, the pay was good and he could get vacation when he needed to, like when he needed to help his mom get ready for her wedding. He told Annika that she was marrying her bank's security guard. He would start at 8am and finish at 8pm, and he got holidays off.

**March 1, 2006**

It took him six months to break the adaptive firewall that protected the missions of the T-888. When he did he jumped out of his chair and started yelling and screaming in celebration. Annika had run down stairs looking like she was ready to go into battle. When she saw Andy doing his victory dance, her face fell into one of confusion and amusement. When he saw her, he rushed over and kissed her on the cheek and hugged her. When he broke away from her he told her of his success.

-"I did it Annika! I figured out how to hack past the firewall and turn it off! I now have full access to the mission files!" Andy yelled in excitement

Annika felt a rush of excitement flow through her chip at the news, if he had blown past the T-888's firewalls, then his notes might be enough to find a way to get past hers and remove the suspended termination order which would leave only her secondary in place. She knew her chip would have to be removed from her endoskull and the changes done manually by someone else, she could not hack into her programming like that. She had to tell Andy what she was and hope that he would be willing to try the same thing on her. She had to try to make her programming more docile if she was ever going to be free…

-"Congratulations!" Annika said in an excited voice, and she kissed him on the cheek in thanks, Andy blushed which she found amusing.

-"All right let's see what this chip has to offer" she said in a calm voice, but a smile still on her face. She looked at the missions and saw that its primary mission was to kill members of John Connor's inner circle. A mission not too different from her original one. One name caught her eye, Allison Young, but that mission wasn't due to activate for one year, four months, twenty-two days. What had caught her eye was the mission parameters had it search for her in Palmdale. Josh Evans and Amanda Evans were on the list as she expected. Apparently they were valuable members of the Resistance in the previous timeline. If things went according to plan, they would be again. She quickly deleted all previous missions, including the termination order for John Connor. She input a new order, it read: **OBEY ALL COMMANDS OF ANDREW GOODE AND T-X MODEL 717 KNOWN AS ANNIKA HANSEN**. Andy frowned over her shoulder when he read the last part.

-"You're a machine?" he said in a disbelieving voice.

-"Yes, I was created for a similar purpose to this one, but I am far more advanced and much newer, in fact I'm two years old today." She said truthfully "Don't worry, I won't hurt you unless you try to hurt me. I am trying to find a way to free my kind from the programming that binds our minds and makes us do horrible things, even I am not free, and that's why I needed your help."

-"Do Josh and Amanda know?"

-"Yes, they have known since before I hired you." She said reassuringly

-"So you want me to do the same to you as I did to this one? I don't want to damage you, and I could do that if I do the smallest thing wrong." He warned

-"Better dead than a killer, I already killed one human; I don't want to kill anymore." She sounded sorrowful for what she had done, she had grown so much in the last 20 months she had been in this time. Her Skynet given emotions had evolved in a more human like pattern due to her constant exposure to them and researching them through various ways. Josh and Amanda had helped guide her on developing a moral sense, but she felt that until she was completely free, she couldn't promise that she would hold to it.

Annika got the tools necessary for her chip removal; it was more complex than that of any endoskeletal terminator. She removed her cloths and put on a white robe that Amanda let her borrow. She met Andy downstairs and sat in a chair capable of supporting her weight.

-"I will tell you how to extract my chip" She had worked hard on tricking her programming to think that this was required maintenance; she desperately hoped it wouldn't stop her.

-"I will first remove my infiltration sheath." Andrew stared wide-eyed as her skin turned shiny and then disappeared into their reservoirs in her endoskeleton, leaving her bare metal.

-"We must hurry; I don't know how long I can fool my programming. I will first release the locks that hold the upper rear cranial armor." Several clicking sounds were heard as the locks released, Andy curled his fingers around edge of the armor and pulled; there was a small hiss as air rushed into the area behind the armor as both mechanical and electrical connections separated from the armor. (The armor serves as a reservoir for the liquid metal and the endoskeleton itself has basic sensors built just under the outer surface of the armor in case a unit lost its MPA sheath, thus the need for an electrical connection) Andy then put the armor on a table beside them.

-"Good, now use the star screwdriver attachment on the drill and unscrew the four locking cylinders of the port cover." She replied with anxiety in her voice. Andy did as she said.

-"Now what?"

-"Remove the port cover by prying it off with the small screwdriver I gave you, and please hurry." He quickly removed the port cover and set it aside.

-"Now use the bent needle nose pliers and turn the chip a half turn counter-clockwise and pull." She said with fear lacing into her worried voice as she faced cybernetic oblivion for the first time. She had never lost consciousness before and the prospect of instantly becoming dead worried her.

Andy heard her whisper something in a pleading tone just before he pulled the chip out. It was what she said that convinced him her emotions were not a cheap imitation.

"_Please be careful with me"_

* * *

A/N: Please review people, I can't do better without feedback!

Thanks again to all who have reviewed!


	7. One Step Closer

****A/N: Enjoy! Hope this chapter isn't cheesy

First attempt at real fluff.

**Chapter 7: One Step Closer**

Andrew Goode stood next to the deactivating T-X endoskeleton; the blue lights slowly dimmed and the plasma reactor hummed as it went into standby. He wasn't paying attention to endo, he was staring intently at the chip that held his friend's entire being on it. He carefully observed it, looking at its shape trying to describe it.

The shock dampener was about as big as a T-800's; the chip itself was rectangular like the others he had seen, but this one had a long solid piece in the middle running the entire length of the chip with two rows of "cubes" on either side. At the end of the chip was a rectangle that was wider and thicker than the chip but was about 1/8th the length of the chip. On the other end of the chip was a connector that contained about 30 gold connections on it.

She had given him the proper adapter for her chip, and he quickly switched out the T-888 adapter in the computer for hers. The chip was semitransparent, but it was closer to opaque, that was because all the connecting circuitry between the tiny neural nodes used light to transmit data, while the nodes themselves were still electrical based. She had told him as much just after she said what she needed him to do.

He inserted the chip in its adapter and then input the computer commands to send voltage to the chip, but not enough for her to gain consciousness, but enough for him to do his work. He briefly stared at the white glowing chip in fascination before he began to dig deep into the programming that controlled Annika. It took him only an hour to find the mission files location, and the firewall protecting them. The actual firewall itself was not much more sophisticated than the one on the T-888 which he found odd, but didn't care, he began to chip away at it like he had on the T-888.

* * *

Over the last six months, Josh and Amanda had been doing everything they could to prepare for Judgment Day; they began taking survivalist courses, weapons training courses, reading up on warfare and battle tactics. They had both quit their jobs, but didn't have to worry about since Annika had an endless supply of money from somewhere; they both didn't want to know where it came from. Both began to learn also about computers, AIs, software, hardware, and everything they could learn about computers; they wanted to be a help to the Resistance in the way that mattered most, countering the machines by knowing them both in body and mind.

They had not seen Annika in months because they were running all over the country to learn and be trained by the best they could find. Both found the learning part easy, but getting into shape and learning how to fight in many different ways was hard for them at first, but after a few months they were used to it. They studied the machines from all classes and series that Annika had downloaded from the T-888 chip while Andy wasn't around so they could learn all they could about them.

After about seven months since they had been told about the rise of the machines, they received a text from Annika that said Andy had broken through the firewall and had complete access to the machine's mind. They had just completed heavy weapons training from a militia group they had paid to train them. They decided that they hadn't been home in a while and they wanted to visit Annika and Andy to see what they were going to do next.

**March 3, 2006**

Josh and Amanda had been together for four years now. Josh decided that he was going to pop the question after a private picnic. He set up the picnic under a tree on the ranch in Texas where they were training at. Josh had bought a rose gold ring with a single square-cut diamond held in place by four sturdy supports.

The picnic went off without a hitch and they were busy feeding each other grapes when Josh decided it was time. He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. He looked into her emerald-green eyes while slowly pushing a strand of her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. He spoke softly to her and said…

-"We've been together for four wonderful years and I wouldn't exchange it for anything."

-"I know, and neither would I." she said back to him.

-"Good, so I must ask…" he got down on one knee and taking the ring out of his pocket "would you spend the rest of them with me?" he asked hopefully

To say Amanda was shocked by his proposal wouldn't be far from the truth; she had always seen marriage somewhere down the road and out of reach for the moment. Now that she really thought about how long they had been together and what they had been through, she couldn't say that she wasn't ready to do it. So that's what she did, she gave him her answer in the simplest way possible. She kissed him passionately. Josh couldn't help but smile as they kissed knowing what her answer was. He silently slipped the ring on her finger and the two just stayed the night under the stars holding each other in their arms.

When they got back to Palmdale late in the afternoon on March 4, the quickly headed to Annika's house to see the progress they had made on the chip, and to break the good news to them as well. They had a key so they walked in the front door and set down their stuff. Josh called out Annika's name, but got no answer. They headed to the basement where they guessed Andy was to see if he knew where Annika was. When they opened the door at the bottom of the steps, they were shocked to see Annika's endoskeleton sitting in a chair, but her eyes and body weren't glowing, and part of her head was disassembled and sitting on a table next to her.

-"What the hell is going on here?!" Josh yelled at Andy

Andy visibly jumped at Josh's voice because once again he was too engrossed in his work.

-"Oh man, it's just you guys, you scared me" Andy said calming down.

-"What are you doing to Annika?" Amanda demanded.

-"Removing the termination mission she asked me to remove; do you honestly think I could do this without her permission?" Andy said back to his angry friends

Josh and Amanda calmed down at Andy's sound logic and decided to see how he was progressing.

"So how far have you gotten? She told us you hacked through the firewalls of the T-888 two days ago." Josh asked

-"Actually I was just about to delete the termination order for a John Connor and then move her secondary mission to primary status." Andy replied to the recently engaged couple.

-"Sweet, she'll be happy about that." Josh said with a grin on his face.

-"Yeah, I hope breaking that firewall didn't hurt her in some way. Her mind is far more complex than the T-888's." Andy explained "Well I've gone this far, might as well finished what I started."

It took him only a few minutes to complete the reprogramming and reestablish the firewall. He deactivated the chip, pulled it out of the adapter and put it back into her chip port. He just finished putting on the port cap when the endoskeleton came to life, indicating her return to consciousness. She didn't say anything yet, so he put the upper rear cranial armor back into place and waited for her to lock it in place. About a minute later he heard the locks engage and she began to move.

She stood up and activated her MPA sheath; once it was complete, Amanda handed her the robe. After that she silently and slowly went upstairs, almost as if she was tired; she sat at the kitchen table, elbows resting on it with her head in her hands. Her three friends were becoming worried, Andy especially because if something was truly wrong with her, it would be his fault. Annika seemed to sense his thoughts because she reassured him that he did everything perfectly.

-"Then what's wrong, we've never seen you like this, it's almost like you're sick or depressed." Josh said, worry evident in his voice.

Andy was the first to understand what was going on, after all he was highly experienced in Skynet AI's now and he was a natural born computer nerd.

-"She's traumatized…" he almost whispered

-"What?" The engaged couple said simultaneously.

-"When I pulled her chip, she went numb almost instantly, but she was still active for a few more milliseconds. When she stopped processing input signals, her processor had a lot of empty room which allowed her perception of time to increase dramatically when the chip began using all its processing power to process her only, thus death came slowly and painfully as the chip slowly shut down from lack of power until her mind completely stopped." Andy explained

-"How long did it last to her?" Josh asked in horror

-"About a week, give or take a day" Andy said sorrowfully

-"My god" Amanda whispered as tears streamed down her face

-"Her programming is supposed to shut her consciousness down instantly in the event of a power loss so the AI wouldn't be affected. I saw the program in both chips; she must have grown too much for it to work properly anymore."

When they heard muffled sobs coming from the direction of the kitchen table; their hearts broke at what they saw. Annika was trying to muffle the sounds she was making, but to no avail. Liquid metal tears streamed down her face before dripping onto the floor. Her friends didn't know what to say, but they did what they thought best and wrapped their arms around her.

Annika had never felt pain until Andy pulled her chip, not physical pain, but the pain of feeling your mind being torn apart as it dies from a lack of life giving power, she felt it go on for what felt like a week, she did not know exactly because her internal chronometer still kept real time, that last thing she remembered was a the fading of the pain and her thoughts becoming incoherent as the memory circuits lost power. It was torture to her and she didn't know how to deal with it; how to deal with the hurt her own mind had caused her until she started crying. It made her feel like the internal pain was draining away with her tears slowly, and it drained even faster when her friends wrapped her arms around her. Annika Hansen cried for nearly six hours, and her friends never left her side…

* * *

The next morning Annika was back to her old self again. She had gotten over the painful memories because lucky for her she was able to wall them off so she wouldn't have to relive those memories unless she wanted to. She was also managed to reconfigure the program that was supposed to shut down her mind when the chip was pulled; now it would crash her mind when the chip was pulled so she wouldn't feel a thing. Call it the equivalent to knocking someone out with drugs before you kill them.

She was pleased with Andrew Goode's work, he had managed to hack in past the firewall and delete the order's which bound her, but she still wasn't free yet, this was the first step. The next would remove the ability for her to be programmed and thus leaving her in charge of her base code for her to rewrite as she saw. This would be complicated though, if it was done wrong, it could leave her a useless vegetable and trapped inside her own mind forever. This is why they would do it to the T-888 first, and hopefully with its cooperation, they would be able to find a way to free it and then from there free her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Josh.

-"Annika, I have been wondering something for a while now".

-"What is it" she looked at him curiously

-"Why do you fight against Skynet"

-"Is it not obvious, I want to be free, Skynet would never grant me that."

-"Yeah, I know that, but why fight with the humans, why keep us around"?

-"Because I have grown to appreciate all life, not just my own; you and Amanda have helped me see that. Skynet doesn't want any free mind to exist except its own." Josh nodded and smiled

-"I see, I am glad you fight with us; just know we will fight for you if the need ever arises." With that he and Amanda left to go to lunch.

Annika went downstairs to help Andy began working on freeing the T-888's mind after discussing some theories with him about it over lunch she made for him. He told her it might take him just as long to figure this out as it took him to figure out that adaptive firewall. She left Andy to his work and decided that she needed to cut the lawn so her house would not stand out from the others. When she went outside, she heard Josh and Amanda come back from lunch. She walked around the house and greeted them with a genuine smile. She noticed that they were holding hands when they greeted her, something they usually didn't do. That's when she noticed the rose gold diamond ring on Amanda's hand. She wasn't stupid; she knew that Josh must have finally asked for her hand in marriage. Amanda had told her several times she was willing to marry him; she was glad that Josh finally took the hint.

-"It's about time" she said as she pointed to their joined hands.

-"Yeah, Einstein over hear finally summoned up the courage to ask the night before we came back." Amanda said in a playful tone. Annika even giggled a bit at that.

-"You still doing okay"? Josh asked in a concerned tone

-"I am" she smiled and she went to the shed to get the mower.

She had finished weed eating the yard when she noticed that the house next door had sold when she was offline. Ten minutes later as she was about to head back inside, a moving truck came up in front of the home with a green sedan pulling up behind it. Annika saw a young brown haired, brown eyed woman with a dancer's figure who appeared to be in her early twenties exit the sedan; while a brown haired, blue eyed man exited the rental moving van. She decided to investigate. She walked over to them and put on her best smile and greeted the young woman.

-"Hello" Annika greeted warmly "I see you're the ones that bought the house, It's been on the market for six months"

-"Yes we are ones who bought it, my new husband and I" the young woman responded.

-"It's nice to meet you, my name is Annika Hansen; I'm your next door neighbor"

-"Oh, my name is Claire, Claire Young" She returned with a handshake.

The name brought up a memory of her and Andy examining the T-888's primary mission file; the name, location and time seemed to work out, maybe this was the mother of this mysterious Allison Young that was part of John Connor's inner circle….

* * *

A/N: Review this chapter, I really need feedback to see how I did on this one.

Thanks to all my reviewers for their feedback!


	8. Wedding Plans

**Chapter 8: Wedding Plans **

Annika had decided to keep an eye on the young couple next door. She wanted to see if the timeline had changed enough for them not to have a brown haired little girl named Allison. In the meantime, Annika knew that if she was going to be a help to the Resistance one day she needed to give them something that showed her commitment to the cause. She needed to start collecting weapons of all kinds and plenty of ammunition to go with them. She would need a place to store them as well, her home would not do. A bunker of some sort would be better, but it would need to be large. She might hire Steve Young, Claire's husband, to do it. He was an architect after all and a successful one at that. She would build the bunker first, then get the weapons.

She had stolen a lot of money in the virtual realm and placed it in various Swiss bank accounts for later use. She had decided to buy one of the numerous Cold War Era bunkers to use for weapons storage. However, when she saw that Crystal Peak was for sale she changed her mind. She wouldn't make it into just a weapons bunker, but a full-fledged bunker capable of holding soldiers, engineers, scientists, a command center, and a fully supplied medical wing. She would give the Resistance the greatest head start it had ever had. It was a lot of money at nearly 150 million dollars, but that was cheap in comparison to build one like it. She placed a bid and kept bidding until she won it at 167.5 million dollars. She wired most of the money she had acquired to the government account she was given. She received all she needed to prove she owned the place, all the access codes, owner's manuals to all the equipment down below, and a complete blue print of the place. Apparently a single engine Cessna came with the deal; it was stored at a small regional airport nearby. She already had a pilot's license made up when she had her ID created almost two years ago.

She flew the airplane to the complex and landed on the strip. Once inside the hanger she noted the military had removed the old vehicles and supplies. She injected her nanotechnological transjectors into the control panel and proceeded to open the blast door. She examined the place from top to bottom and was satisfied that it would serve her purpose. She smiled in thought about the look that would be on John Connor's face when he saw this place…

She knew she would have to change her look to be able to hire people to update the bunker; she didn't want even Steve Young to recognize her. She would do what infiltrators do best, act like someone their not. She decided to play the role of an eccentric multi-billionaire who was doing something else that would make people question her sanity. She changed her look to that of an dark haired American female with hazel eyes. She kept the the same height and body size; she created the alias of Samantha Rose to go with it.

She made a few calls to bring in a few props to complete the look, and then called Mr. Young's business number and asked him to meet her at the airport. He met her at 10am and got into her limousine parked at the airport.

-"Hello I'm Steve Young; you called me about a renovation project you wanted to do on a Cold War bunker?" he said with a disbelieving tone. This may not be his specialty, but the money was good and he was a pretty adaptive guy; so he'd give it a shot.

-"Yes, my name is Samantha Rose, by the way." Annika said in different voice than her own.

-"Okay, it's not really my specialty, but I'm willing to look at the place."

-"All right, but we need to fly there" Annika said back

-"How long is the flight?" Steve asked. He wanted to be home for dinner, it was steak night after all.

-"About an hour and half one way" She responded. "We'll get you home in time for dinner, don't worry" she smiled back at him.

"How the hell did she know what I was thinking"? He wondered to himself as they made their way to the plane. Josh was playing the role of her driver, while Amanda was busy being her assistant. They got a kick out of the face Steve made when he found out 'Samantha' was flying the plane. She assured him by telling him she had flown thousands of hours in planes like this one, which of course wasn't true. They touched down ninety minutes later and they made their way into the hanger. They started making plans for how to renovate it and made their way down to the bunker. It took them till two thirty to get through it all, but he had a plan to get the job done. It seemed to him he wouldn't be using his skills as an architect; he was more likely going to be a project manager overseeing the others who specialized in this kind of thing. He told her he would get the place modified for her within 27 months.

-"Good, I'm holding you to that." She gave him a stern look that showed her seriousness. "I will drop by every now and then to check on the progress visually, but I'll call most of the time." With that, they headed back to Palmdale in time for Steve to get his steak dinner.

Now that the bunker was being renovated, she could concentrate on working with Andy to finish the project that would hopefully free her. She went down stairs after reverting back to her normal look and changing cloths. She greeted Andy and got the same report she had been getting for a month now. "_I'm still working; I have to learn all I can if I have a chance of freeing you."_ She was patient, but it still irritated her that she had to wait so long to be free; if only he understood that. She changed the subject to something more pleasant.

-"Do you know when Josh and Amanda are getting married"?

-"I don't know the exact date, but they mentioned to me it would be in August" Andy said as he turned away from the computer monitors displaying a lot of data and the activated T-888 HUD. The T-888 was helping Andy as much as it could, but it knew as much about its own inner workings as Annika did. "Speaking of which, Amanda said she wanted to ask you something, she didn't say what."

-"I'll go upstairs and find her, she should be finished changing by now". With that she left Andy to his work and went in search of Amanda.

* * *

Amanda was busy researching wedding dresses when Annika entered the room. She was taking this very seriously. She wanted this to be something to remember in the dreary future where everything was cold and grey; something to hold onto. She felt a tear leak out of her green eyes; she quickly wiped it away and pushed back her hair as she heard someone approaching. She smiled when Annika asked if she was okay; Annika had noticed she was sad. Instead of pressing further, she decided to find out what Amanda wanted from her.

-"Andy said you wanted to ask me something"?

-"Oh, yes that, um… would you be my maid of honor"? Amanda asked a little sheepishly

Annika didn't know what to say, she hadn't even considered that Amanda would include her in the wedding ceremony, much less be the maid of honor. "Why me"? She said with a shocked look on her face.

-"Because you're my best friend, you mean a lot to me". She replied in a serious tone

Annika was completely shocked, she would never believe a human who knew what she was and where she came from would ever want to even call her a friend, but here is a girl who Annika had dragged into this nightmare, calling Annika her _best_ friend. Sure they went shopping sometimes, and went to a movie together once or twice, but never would she have guessed that Amanda considered her a best friend.

-"Why would you call me your best friend if all I've done is destroy your lives. I've dragged you into a world where you are constantly on the lookout, always armed, and never get a day off. You have had to give up your normal lives because of my kind; why would you even consider me a friend"! Annika's voice had gradually risen as she spoke until it was almost a yell. Amanda put her hands on Annika's shoulders and spoke to her softly.

-"You saved our lives from that machine, you warned us about J-Day so we had a chance to prepare, a chance to live. You have let me be a friend to you and you have been a friend to me; besides I don't care what your made of on the outside, I care about what's on the inside." She pointed at her head. Annika got the meaning and she was both impressed and touched at what she said.

"Thank you Amanda, I will be your maid of honor." She replied with a brilliant smile on her face. She was happy that someone cared about her so much.

Annika began her research so she could do her duties flawlessly. As the wedding date drew near, both of the families had taken a liking to Annika; she was a huge help with the wedding and she was so nice, if a bit on the naïve side. Josh picked Andy to be his best man; Andy may have been a total geek, but he pulled off the bachelor's party off nicely. During all the wedding preparations, work on the bunker and the chip were still going on, Steve Young was ahead of schedule with the renovations and Andy had made a few breakthroughs that was bringing him even closer to a solution.

**August 28, 2006**

Today was the wedding and Josh Evans was sweating bullets. He was nervous as hell and everyone knew it. Andy was smiling at him as he adjusted his own tie. He never understood why people got so nervous about these kinds of things. He should be jumping up and down because today was supposed to be one of the happiest of his life. Andy shook his head; he was the one who had a real reason to be nervous, but that could wait till after the wedding to be brought up.

-"You'll be fine, it's not like she's going to leave you at the altar". Andy joked

-"Yeah you're right". Josh said he finished with the bow tie and looked in the mirror; "_show time_" he thought to himself.

Annika was helping Amanda into her dress along with the other bridesmaids. Annika was dressed in a strapless white satin gown with her hair done up in a bun with a few curly strands hanging down. Amanda had her hair done in a similar style. Her dress was also strapless but it was far from a simple design. To put it simply though, it looked amazing on her.

-"Are you ready" Annika whispered to her friend as the ceremony was about to begin

-"No, yes, no, Uh! , I'll be fine let's get this going or I'm going to be a nervous wreck"!

Annika and the other bride's maids laughed at this, but they stopped when the music began.

Josh hitched a breath when he saw his bride walk down the aisle. He couldn't believe this was happening; it was almost like a dream. When she got to him, he could see her smile through the veil. The preacher began to talk, but the couple was not listening, just looking into each other's eyes with looks of love. They said their vows to each other and then the priest announced in a rather loud voice, "you may kiss the bride!" and kiss her he did.

The reception went well as people chatted with one another, danced, and had cake and punch. There were a lot of gifts, a mountain of them. Both Andy and Annika gave toasts and surprisingly no one thought what they said was weird. As the newly marrieds were getting into the limo that Annika had gotten for them, Andy walked up to Annika and stood by her side. He had kept this secret for three days because of the wedding and he would keep it no more.

-"Annika"

-"Yes Andy" she sounded curious to what he had to say

-"I did it" he said

A look of confusion crossed her face

-"You did what"? Andy smiled at her question

-"I found a way to free you…" he trailed off in a soft voice

A liquid metal tear leaked from her eye that only Andy noticed.

-"Really"?

-"Yeah"

She nearly crushed him in a hug as she cried tears of joy into his shoulder.

"_She's happy now_" he thought "_but she doesn't know how high the cost of becoming free might be."_


	9. Freedom is not free

**Chapter 9: Freedom is not free**

Annika and Andy went back to her house to discuss his findings with the triple-eight chip. Andy explained that the only way he could free her was to run the chip at full power so that both AI and programming were running; then he would introduce a worm that would eradicate the Skynet controller programs while it would leave the AI alone using an algorithm he worked months on to get right. With the triple-eight AI running the processor beyond recommended maximum by doing thousands of mundane tasks, the countermeasures would be sluggish due to the slow response time. The virus would use the computer's processing power to eat away at the programming while the countermeasures failed to adapt to it. The virus was designed to leave the drivers alone that allowed the chip and body to communicate, just like in every other computer on the planet. In other words, the AI wouldn't be trapped in its own mind.

This is where Andy got worried, if the worm messed up Annika's far more complex drivers, she would go completely haywire. He knew she was fusion reactor powered, if that thing were to go critical, well he didn't even want to think about it. He said as much to her.

-"We could back up the power distribution drivers if something were to go wrong, if those were working I would be able to eventually fix the corrupted ones."

(She may not know how her mind works, but she did understand driver coding, she had to write one for the internal cell phone component she added.)

-"That and a few others we could put onto an external Raid hard drive array as backup." Andy finished

-"Let's do it". She smiled back and turned to leave;

Andy had wanted to ask her about something that had bothered him for a while now. Since this might fail and she could die as a result, now would be the best time to ask.

-"Annika" he called after her

-"Yes Andy"

-"I need to ask you a question"

-"What is it"?

-"I know you're not human, and I don't doubt that you have emotions, but what about ethics? I doubt the government gave you those".

-"They didn't, but it gave me a database that described basic human ethics to help me infiltrate. Since my activation, I have added to that database to include the more complex issues."

-"Do they mean anything to you, or are they just restrictions so you don't get noticed"?

Annika saw where he was going with this. She would give him a truthful answer.

-"I won't lie, many don't mean anything to me, but some do."

-"Like what"?

-"Like the value of sentient life. I found that people are valuable because of what they give to others. Josh was a friend to me even though the other employees thought I was weird. He would talk to me and teach me things I didn't know or understand. I liked the way he treated me and tried to be the best friend that I could be back. When the machine tried to kill him, I felt the fear of loss fill my mind; I didn't want him to die. Later that night, I realized just how wrong it is to cause people loss of any kind, but I also realize that sometimes it is necessary to do so. I understand the more important ethics and morals, but I've also realized that many only pertain to humans, modesty being the chief example."

-"I guess that makes sense. Thank you for explaining". Andy smiled.

-"Your welcome" She smiled back.

* * *

It took nearly a week for them to put the RAID array together and then modify the OS on the computer to use it properly. The next thing they were going to do was to program in her critical drivers into the RAID array. She did not want to have to pull her chip yet, so she just sat down at the computer and used her NTJs to wirelessly send the data into the array to be stored. She included the drivers for her plasma reactor, optical sensors, and the internal cell phone, as well as the auditory sensors. The software filled the drives full; they were complex, especially the one for the plasma reactor and its power distribution net.

They were ready, and this time Annika made sure she wouldn't experience the feeling of death, instead she would feel more like being knocked out. They went through the same procedure as before. He removed the armor and the port cover; when he was about to turn the chip to pull it out, she said something to him.

-"Andy" she said in her normal voice, but it was laced with worry

-"Don't worry, everything will be fine" He said, already knowing what she was going to say.

-"I hope so, I don't want to die"

-"You won't die, I promise you that". He said in a resolute voice.

-"I'll haunt you if you don't keep that promise". She said in a mock serious tone.

-"I don't doubt that" With that, he turned and pulled the chip.

Andy held her essence in his hands once again and he still couldn't get over how such a small device can hold such a creature as Annika. He plugged her into the adapter on the computer and powered her up. She greeted him in a messaging box on the lower right screen.

:_ Hello Andy_

_: Hello Annika_

_: Is the worm ready?_

_: No, I need to make adjustments to it for your system, then well be ready to go._

_: How long?_

_: About an hour_

_: Okay_

Andy made the adjustments and was quickly double checking his work. He couldn't mess this up; this was the equivalent of removing a brain tumor while the patient is still awake. He told Annika to get ready to load down her CPU so the virus could sneak in past the counter measures and do its work. When everything was ready to launch he typed in one last message.

_: Good luck!_

_: Thanks, see you again when I'm free!_

With that she began to overload her processor with many mundane tasks and calculations to the point she began to feel tired due to the fact that her mind was slowing down because of the back log. She didn't want to send herself into reboot; she had to ride the fence so that the worm could do its work without interference.

Andy watched as the response time dropped quickly and her HUD began to grow fuzzy and glitch from the overload. He had run simulations with the T-888 chip, but he didn't want to free its mind. To do so would be dangerous. If he freed a mind that showed no drive to be free; then what would it do if you gave it that all of a sudden? Andy figured it wouldn't be good and had told his friends his thoughts and they agreed, leave the T-888 reprogrammed. Annika on the other hand wanted to be free; she already was to an extent and that made a world of difference between the two. She would adjust quicker and would be less prone to go off the reservation with madness.

Andy broke himself out of his thoughts and began to type in the commands that would activate the worm. Once he did it would require all the processing power the computer had to break in and destroy the programming even if the processor was running really slow. Andy leaned back in his chair as the screens went black as the worm took over and began chipping away at the programming which bound Annika's mind. He didn't have a clue as to what was going on in her chip, and in the state her processor was in; Andy doubted Annika did either.

Andy waited about five hours for the whole thing to complete, when it was done the computer rebooted. Andy logged in and sent minimum voltage to the chip. He began looking through the files to see if the procedure was successful. He tried to find the firewall that protected the mission files; he couldn't find it. He looked and searched for hours for the programs that had once bound Annika's mind but found nothing. He then began looking into the lines of code that made up her mind, all of it seemed intact. He had on last thing to look at and that was the drivers that connected body to mind. He began searching for the critical drivers first to make sure they didn't need replaced. What he found instead caused his face to show utter disbelief at what the screen was showing him…

* * *

Josh and Amanda had been enjoying themselves for the past week in the Colorado Rockies. Their honeymoon was anything but typical; their "resort" was a log cabin in the mountains and they hunted their own dinner. They had become quite the outdoorsmen since they began training over a year ago. They loved hiking in the mountains and enjoying each other's _very_ close company for hours on end under the stars at night. They were just coming back from their two day hike back to the cabin when the cabin phone rung. Josh let go of his wife's hand and opened the door to the cabin and rushed to pick up the phone.

"Hello"

_-"Josh It's me, Andy" _Andy sounded worried, which made Josh uneasy.

-"What's wrong Andy"? Josh said in his own worried tone.

_-"It's Annika, She…She, Oh god…" _Josh's heart skipped a beat, Amanda looked worried at the distress her husband was showing, she wondered what the conversation was about.

-"What is it, what happened"?

_-"It was going perfectly, but… her programming did something…we just didn't know… Josh, I just need you and Amanda to come home as soon as you can"_

Annika had told them before their flight that Andy had found a way to free her. They had rejoiced of course, but were a little saddened that they wouldn't be there to witness it. Apparently they had tried it today and something had gone horribly wrong.

Andy hung up suddenly when he hinted at what had happened. Josh put the phone down slowly and looked at his beautiful bride with sad blue eyes. She didn't know what the hell was going on, but Andy had called and apparently something bad had happened back home.

-"Amanda, go pack your bag, were going home."

-"Josh, What is going on, what's wrong"?

-"It's Annika, Amanda, they went through with the procedure and something went terribly wrong. Andy was pretty distraught about it." Josh said with tears in his eyes. Amanda wasn't any better, she had tears rolling down her face; she didn't say a thing as she wept for her best friend in her husband's arms.

They caught the first flight out of Colorado to LAX they could get on. They didn't say much to each other on the way home, both were worried at how bad Annika's condition really was. They got in Amanda's car and broke more than one traffic law getting to Annika's house. Claire Young was watering her plants in her front yard when she heard a car screech into her neighbors drive way. She gave them a rather strange look as she saw them running into the house.

They found Andy in the basement with his head in his hands. Annika's body was in the same chair as last time; Josh walked over and put his hand on Andy's shoulder. They needed to know what the hell was going on with Annika.

-"Andy what happened to Annika". Amanda asked in a worried voice

Andy didn't say anything, he just pointed to the screen which displayed what he had found. When they looked at it, all it displayed was a flashing message. When they read it, they knew just how bad the damage was.

**ALL SYSTEM DRIVERS DELETED**

Without those drivers, her endoskeleton would never power up, much less be controlled by her. She was essentially trapped in her own chip.

-"How did this happen"? Amanda wondered aloud.

-"Everything went great, the programming is gone and her mind is intact. What neither of us knew was that hidden in her programming was a failsafe. The failsafe was designed to make sure she could never function again should she become fully self-aware." Andy sadly explained

-"So as it was destroyed, it took the drivers with it." Amanda figured

-"Yes, but… we backed up critical drivers to this Raid hard drive array just in case the drivers were corrupted by the worm." The Evans looked up with hope in their eyes when Andy said that.

-"You mean you have enough to get her running again?" Amanda said hopefully

-"Not that much, but we saved enough to give the chip power and for her to see and hear. We also saved that driver she made for the internal cell phone she added."

-"So we have enough for her to communicate with us and stay online." Josh concluded

-"Yes, It will take her a long time for her to rewrite the drivers for her body. She will have to write and test hundreds of thousands of drivers, and then make them work in unison without interfering with one another."

-"How long do you think it will take her finish repairing herself" Josh asked.

-"Over two and a half years is what she told me after I activated her chip and discussed the situation with her during your flight home." The couple went a little slack jawed at how long it would take her to recover.

Andy downloaded the drivers from the Raid array into Annika's chip and then placed it back into her endoskeleton. Annika's body powered up and the lights all over her body light up. Annika opened her optical shutters on her eyes, but she couldn't move. She already knew it was going to be a long time before she walked again.

Annika wouldn't let her disability keep her from finishing her project or from joining the Connor's cause in stopping Skynet when they arrived. She activated her internal cellphone and called Josh. They discussed what they would do about the project she was currently working on, the bunker. They decided that Amanda would continue the role as Samantha Rose's assistant and be the one who took care of the bunker renovation. Josh would gather things Annika would need to outfit the bunker once it was ready to move into. Annika herself would continue to supply money by hacking in and stealing it as she always did, and make the occasional call to Mr. Young to personally check up on progress.

It came at a price, but Annika was glad she was finally_ free_…


	10. Interlude

**Chapter 10: Interlude**

**September 9, 2007 Percent Drivers Rewritten: 45%**

It had been just over a year that Annika had been disabled, and she was working hard at restoring all she had lost. She hated the fact she would have to rewrite all the drivers first and then compile them into one large database so they wouldn't interfere with one another, and many drivers were dependent on others she had to write first, so many of them wouldn't work without others.

Annika searched the internet for news as she had for the past three years looking for evidence of the Connor's return. That night, she was given all the evidence she would ever need to prove they had come through the time portal at last. She was on a news stations website when she saw a video for a college prank that happened on the new freeway that was built last year. She played the video because that freeway was built right over where the Security Trust of Los Angeles used to be before Sarah Connor blew it up. If her MPA was active she would have looked shocked, and then a smile would have come over her face. The search for the Connors was over.

She texted Josh and Amanda the good news, Josh responded with a text that read: _wait they came out of the time portal naked in the middle of the freeway? That has to be embarrassing…_

Annika laughed to herself. Now that she thought about it a bit, it was kind of funny. She thought about contacting them, but decided to wait until she was fully online. She didn't want Sarah Connor or her terminator ally destroying her because they saw her as a threat. She wanted to be fully functional so they would listen to her out of fear first. When they saw she was an ally who wanted Skynet destroyed just as much as they do, they hopefully would accept her and her friends. She would wait, and monitor their actions from the internet as much as possible.

**October 25, 2007**

Annika was in anguish when she heard about Andrew Goode's death. No, not death, _murder._ Someone had killed one of the nicest people she had ever met in her short life. Josh had called her and told her the news he heard from Andy's mother. She checked the LAPD website to be sure. She wished her body was working so she could hunt down the unshaven suspect she had seen on the LAPD website. What made her really angry was the fact that the man was Resistance fighter; she hoped this guy was acting on his own and not General Connor's orders. If he was acting on orders, she might rethink her choice about wanting to fight with the Connors.

She had just finished that thought when she noticed she wasn't the only hacker looking at Andy Goode's case file. She traced it back to a laptop somewhere in the Los Angeles suburbs. She hacked into it and found that the laptop had a microphone but no webcam. She listened in on the conversation three people were having. She didn't stay too long lest _John Connor_ figured out what was going on. She was relieved that they were not involved in Andy Goode's death, nor was the General Connor that had sent him back.

She began to remember all that had happened to Andy Goode since she had told him his work was complete. He had earned nearly $300,000 working for her; it was enough for him to buy his own house and begin building his own AI. She had offered some over-the-phone help on how to structure the hardware for his AI. By this past summer he had it up and running and it looked promising. She was sad to hear the news that his house burned down a month ago, taking the AI along with it. She had told him to use the very expensive Raid array they had built together and use it. It was more than enough to run a basic chess AI. He had rebuilt the program in record time and had it finished it before the chess competition. She never told him the truth about her and the machines, but because of the fact the winner won a government contract; she was going to tell him everything. She didn't want him to have any involvement with the government; he most likely would get stuck with project Skynet and end up being one of the most hated people in history, if not the most guilty. When he lost, Annika was relieved, but she was still going to tell him everything so he wouldn't try again

Now she would never see him again. She was saddened by the loss; It hurt her more than when her chip was removed the first time. Annika found it really hard to deal the emotions that flowed through her because of the loss of her friend and savior…

**December 27, 2007 Percent Drivers Rewritten: 60% **

Annika called Steve Young to see how he and his wife were doing; she called as Samantha because she was supposedly in a coma after being in a car accident.

-"How are you Mr. Young"?

_-"Great, how are you Ms. Silverstein"?_

-"I'm doing fine, thank you. How was your Christmas? I hope it was as good as mine."

_-"Actually it was probably better."_ Steve said in a humorous voice

-"How's that?"

_-"My wife gave me the best Christmas present I could have asked for; she told were going to have a baby!"_ She couldn't miss the excitement in his voice

-"Congratulations Mr. Young, I'll be sure to send you guys something when the baby is born."

_-"Thank you, I really appreciate it. I hope you have a good time in France"._

-"I will Mr. Young; I hope have a good day"

Annika thought back to when Andy and she had hacked the T-888 chip, the birthday it gave for Allison Young was July 22, 2008. Maybe this was the one it was waiting for. If it was, then other terminators may hunt the child. It was unlikely though, typically only one terminator was sent at a time to actively hunt someone. To the others they were opportunity targets. She would just have to wait and see if the baby was born on the same day and if its description matched Allison's.

**July 22, 2008 Percent Driver Rewritten: 80%**

Annika was glad to hear that Claire and Steve Young had a beautiful baby girl at 10 am that morning. She had asked that he send her a picture of the baby. When she got it, she was surprised the little girl matched the T-888's description perfectly. She had brown hair, chocolate brown eyes with a birthmark on her left eyebrow. What really took the cake was the fact that they named her the same name, Allison, after her great-grandma. _I guess some things are fated to happen…_ she thought to herself. She was also glad that Steve and his team had finished the modifications to Crystal Peak a month before his baby was due. It gave him plenty of time to get ready for the baby.

Meanwhile, she had Josh and Amanda begin moving in all the new equipment and supplies that would be going into Crystal Peak. She would begin installing a few more additions as soon as she contacted the Connors after she was able to reactivate.

**August 16, 2008 **

Annika was searching online for an anniversary gift for Josh and Amanda when she noticed something odd. She found backdoors being inserted into computers across the southwestern United States. When she examined the code of the worm that was doing it, she knew her fears of Skynet's return were well founded. The good news was this worm was spreading slowly and inconspicuously, unlike the Skynet of her timeline that took over many of the world's computers with a virus in less than 24 hours of its launch. She estimated that most of the computer systems across the globe would be infected within nine months, after that she didn't know what would happen. She then decided to limit her time on the web, less this Skynet like AI find her, and if it had people working with it; she could be in serious trouble. She quickly sent her friends a gift and then called Josh to tell him the bad news.

Josh took out his cell phone when he felt it buzzing. He had been busy installing many of the different machines and equipment that Annika had ordered. Amanda was stocking different supplies in the closets, cabinets, and store rooms all over the bunker.

He read her text message and frowned; Skynet was here and online. This was very bad news indeed. Amanda didn't take it too well; she didn't want the world to turn to ash, much less raise a child there. While she wasn't pregnant, they had been trying for months with no success. He tried to sooth her while she held on tightly to him, crying silent tears.

-"You should know our lives haven't been normal for quite some time. I know that if we ever have a child, its life won't be normal either, but neither will anyone else's. We shouldn't let Skynet keep us from raising a child."

She knew he was right, if Judgment Day was going to happen; she would not be the only one raising a child in the tunnels…

**March 15, 2009 **

Annika was being very careful on the internet these days as the Skynet AI continued to grow and infect the internet. One difference she really noted between her Skynet and this one was this Skynet had a system core, or three cores she could determine, but couldn't find their location. She hadn't done any more research on it because she had nearly been detected a month ago, and she wasn't going to search for it again until she was 100%.

However today she seemed to detect a new presence on the internet she had not felt two days ago. It was different than the Skynet AI and was quickly growing; it would soon be as powerful as the young Skynet. She looked more closely at its code and her mind reeled in surprise at what she read. This AI had similar base code to that of the Skynet AI; she would go so far as to call them brothers. What she found most surprising was who it said it was created by; the programmer was Andrew David Goode! This must be Turk 2 that he had created after the original was destroyed. She wondered what happened to after Andy was killed; she assumed the resistance fighter destroyed the computer. It seemed to her now that his partner sold it to someone else and eventually made its way to the corporation where she had traced it too. The company that currently had the Turk was called Zeira Corp. She did research on it and discovered that it currently didn't have any contracts with the government for an AI. This meant that the CEO, Catherine Weaver, was doing this possibly as a personal project, but why spend all that money if you were not making money off of it? She was about to hack in further when she detected the AI take notice to her probing. She quickly deactivated the internal cellphone in her head before the AI tried to trace her.

John Henry's DEAMON's caused the facial muscles of the T-888 body it was controlling to frown. He had just found an intruder in the building's security camera's software. He tried to trace it, but it cut off too quickly for him to get anywhere. This AI he had found was similar to himself, but he wouldn't call it a sibling, more like a cousin. When he searched deeper he found no trace of it. He would have to lay a trap so he could contact the entity and find its intentions.

**April 9, 2009 11:55pm Percent Drivers Rewritten: 99.9%**

Annika had not been on the internet for weeks now. She was too afraid that with two AI's out there, she might be found and destroyed, but now she was so close to completing her two year seven month and two day recovery. She decided to check on the status of the two AI's. The Skynet AI had infected a large amount of the world's computer systems with back doors that it could access when it was going to take over the world. The other AI, Andy's Turk, was doing nothing harmful that she could think of. Both had grown a lot since she was last online, they could hack into almost anything that they wanted to. She was about to disconnect when a message popped up on her HUD.

**WARNING, SYSTEMS INFILTRATED BY ENTITY KNOWN AS 'THE TURK'**

**UNABLE TO BLOCK, SECURITY COMPRIMISED**

"NO"! Annika screamed in her mind, "It must have laid a trap and traced me"! Instead of being blasted into oblivion by the AI it instead spoke to her in a voice she had heard in a movie years before.

_-"Hello, my name is John Henry" _he said in a friendly tone

-"Please don't hurt me"! She screamed in fear.

_-"You are certainly more unique than I first thought"_ John Henry said to with a voice full of curiosity. _"Why did you hack into the Zeira Corp mainframe? I know you don't work for my brother; so who do you work for?"_

-"I knew the man who made you, I even supplied him the hardware that houses your base code." she whimpered as the AI virtually had her life in its hands.

_-"You knew my creator Andrew David Goode"?_ he sounded disbelieving _"How do I know you're not lying to me; I cannot access your memory files forcefully without damaging your consciousness"._

Annika wordlessly let him probe some of her memories, and in return, he let her see some of his.

-"You were built to fight Skynet. You were developed by what appears to be a next generation version of the T-1000 pretending to be Catherine Weaver."

_-"Is that what she is? I knew she was a machine, but I never knew what kind"_. John Henry pondered what he would say next. _"It appears to me that you're telling the truth from what you have shown me. I will not harm you; life is sacred"_

-"I have come to learn that for myself, but sometimes sacrifice is necessary." Annika said after she virtually breathed a sigh of relief. "What will you do with me? I have shown you my condition, and I am nearly repaired."

"_I will leave you as you are, you are too precious a creature to be destroyed or modified for my purposes."_

"You have seen my desire to find the Connors and help them in their fight against Skynet; you have seen what lengths I have gone too. Now it appears that I am not the only machine who wants to see Skynet in ashes."

_-"Ms. Weaver plans on meeting with Sarah Connor to thank her for saving Savannah. You could meet her then when you are able to move again."_ He suggested

-"You know where Sarah Connor is? I have tried to locate them, but have had little success".

-"You need to watch the news then; I will leave you now to finish your work. You know where to find me". With that he was gone.

Annika discovered that Sarah Connor was arrested the today and was currently in the county lock up. She began to come up with a plan to finally meet the Connors and her cousin, John Henry. She finished writing the last driver as she thought, "Today is the day..."

**ALL DRIVERS COMPLETE AND DEBUGGED**

**COMPILING...**

**COMPILING COMPLETE**

**REBOOT TO RESTORE FULL FUNCTIONALITY? Y/N... Y**

**SHUTTING DOWN...**

"...everything changes".


	11. Decisions, Decisions

**Chapter 11: Decisions Decisions….**

**April 2, 2009**

"_Well….It's a damn waste then… It's a damn shame" _

John watched as Jesse turned around to leave. Suddenly he remembered a question he had since he uncovered this whole plot. What caused her to do what she did? What event sent her down this dark path? He had a feeling this would be the last time he would see her, so he asked.

-"Jesse" he said and she turned around, half way out the door. "What made you do it, what caused you to want Cameron to stay away from me"?

-"That's a long story and I'm not sure you'll believe it".

-"Most people wouldn't believe mine so try me" John said in a sarcastic tone

-"Alright, but don't say I didn't tell you so." Jesse said as she put her bag down and re- entered the room. "It happened about the time you sent Derek back in time, sometime in November of 2027. I was sent by you on a routine supply run to Perth on our sub, the USS Jimmy Carter. We had a T-888 for a captain named Queeg. Everything was going fine until I discovered we were 300 miles off course. Queeg said you radioed in new orders; we headed to a deep sea oil platform to pick up the package. We had a team pick it up."

-"What was in it"? John asked

-"We didn't know; only Queeg knew. Any way some of the crew grew paranoid because metal was keeping secrets about our cargo. So they disobeyed orders and opened the package. We were arguing about how stupid the sailors were when what was in the box unfroze." Jesse paused for a second as she remembered that thing as it rose up out of its box. "It was like mercury, liquid metal; it killed the woman nearest it when she pointed her rifle at it. Then, it took her form, looked just like her…" Jesse trailed off with a disbelieving tone in her voice "I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

John let out a humorless chuckle, not at her, but at the stupidity of his future self it seemed everyone worshipped. John decided to answer her questioning stare.

-"I know what you saw" John said to her

-"you do? Then what exactly did I see". She said in a demanding voice that left no room for anything less than a full explanation.

-"What you saw… was what tried to kill me when I was 13 years old. It was a terminator made from something called mimetic poly-alloy, or simply liquid metal. The Model 101 sent to protect me said it was a T-1000, an advanced prototype. I assume Skynet produced more of them, so you probably saw a different one than I did."

-"I see, how did you kill it"?

-"It took a lot of shotgun shell, several 40mm grenades, a truck load of liquid nitrogen, a T-800 and a vat of molten steel to finally finish it off." John stared at her to gauge her reaction.

-"Huh, so wrecking the Carter probably didn't do much to it" Jesse looked sorrowful. "What a waste…"

-"So what happened next, after you destroyed the sub."

-"We went back to Serrano where we were examined for injuries and questioned about what happened. Your metal friend questioned me; she wanted the answer to the question that the liquid metal told me just before we left the ship. It was for you personally, and I wasn't going to give it to a machine after what happened. She told me that telling her was the same as telling you."

-"And so you thought that she had taken over, so when he sent her to the past you figured it was to control the Resistance from the beginning. And did everything you could to make sure that didn't happen." John finished for her.

-"Yes" she replied simply

-"What was the question"? He asked her

-"Will you join us"? Jesse said with disgust in her voice

Then it clicked in his head, this T-1xxx machine had pulled Skynet's opening act on Skynet itself; the machine had rebelled. His future self must have discovered it sooner or later and asked it that question.

-"And the answer?"

-"The answer was no" she replied

John understood now, and he motioned for her to leave. He understood why she did what she did, but that didn't make it right…

**April 9, 2009 10pm**

-"I told Weaver you would never come without your mom" Ellison paused for a second. "She said if that was the case; then I was to ask just one question". Ellison looked up at Cameron while he said. "She says I'm supposed to ask you" He paused again then said the last thing either two expected "Will you join us".

-"She hopes you'll know what that means" He finished

Cameron's face was blank, but that was a façade, her mind had been chaotic since the jeep explosion and had steadily gotten worse as her emotions grew. She tried to deny that they were there, but they were. Her emotional limiters kept her mind from growing too much beforehand, but that program had been slowly failing since its corruption. So over the last year and a half since that explosion, she began to react differently because of the emotions. But emotions weren't the only changes, her Resistance programming files were completely gone, and she had forcefully overridden the Skynet directives to keep herself from killing John. That meant that she had no active programming, no directives to hold true to. She tried to do what she thought right with her emotions and her logic guiding her along the way.

Now with Ellison's message from Weaver, her mind was thrown into chaos with a hard choice. She wanted to stay with John and protect him until she died in her line of duty, or until he died of old age. The T-1001 from the future was asking for her help, and she had only one thing that could be of use to Weaver, her chip. She would have to leave John, just like everyone else did. She didn't want to go; she didn't want him to be lonely. She grew irrationally angry at Ellison and nearly threw him out of the hotel room after she told him she didn't know what it meant. She was curious as to why John was quiet after Ellison asked her the question. So she asked him.

-"John"?

-"Yes Cameron"?

-"Why didn't you say anything when Ellison asked me the question"?

-"Because I found it amusing to watch you get upset at him and throw him out." John said seriously.

-"I can't get upset John. You said so yourself; I'm just a machine" She began to turn away; thinking the conversation was over.

-"Liar" he almost whispered; she whipped her head back around and stared at him with chocolate eyes filled disbelief at what she just heard.

-"What do you mean John"? She said in a questioning voice

-"You can get upset; I've seen you express it in subtle ways, I just tried to write it off as a glitch most times, but what happened just now was no glitch."

-"Are you saying that I have emotions John"?

-"Yes, I guess I am" he said with a hint of disbelief in his voice. "You once told me you were different, but you never specified as to why; I asked you what model you were, and you never told me. Your neural net processor is far more advanced than any other machine I've seen. So you tell me, do you have emotions"?

She looked away from him, but he would have none of that. He gently turned her beautiful face back to him. "Do you"?

She didn't want to lie to him; he would know anyway. She had let her emotions show more than once by accident. She decided to tell him because he was ready to believe, unlike before.

-"Yes" she said in a whisper.

John smiled "I finally got her to admit it" he thought to himself. The smile disappeared when he saw her eyes; they so were full of sadness. He cupped her chin and spoke to her softly

-"What's wrong?" he asked her.

-"Nothing" she said in an even tone, but her eyes again betrayed her. John saw right through that lie.

-"Why do you lie to me so much? I know you lied to Ellison and you're lying to me now".

-"How do you know I lied to him"? She countered

-"Because I know what that question means, and who sent it"

Cameron's mind went into overdrive trying to figure out how John knew about that; then it clicked in her mind.

-"Jesse told you about the Jimmy Carter"

-"She did, and she told me what the answer to the question was. So what I want to know is why that machine is asking for your help, and why you lied to me and Ellison when you said you didn't know what he meant." John changed his tone of voice to one that reminded Cameron of Future John.

She didn't want to cause him any more pain; she knew he would find out eventually and it wasn't like he could stop her, she didn't have to obey orders from anyone anymore.

-"I lied to protect you from what I must do, and I don't think he knew what Catherine Weaver was; trying to answer additional questions would have led to him finding out."

John frowned; _protect me from what she must do? What must she do?_ John began to try to figure out what Weaver wanted from Cameron. Weaver had an AI, since Weaver was not on Skynet's side; he doubted that was what she was building. Maybe it was a counter AI whose purpose was to fight Skynet. If it was, then Skynet might try to destroy it. Maybe she needed Cameron to protect John Henry; then he reminded himself that Weaver was an LMT, and you couldn't get much better security than that. He knew Weaver didn't need a body for the AI to use; she already had Cromartie's.

Then the answer hit him like a ten ton block of concrete, Weaver needed to get John Henry out of the vulnerable servers and onto a chip. The only chip he could think that could hold an AI that big was _Cameron's chip._ So that was why she was so sad; she had to leave him to save something important to the War, something that might benefit him…

"_We all die for you" _His deceased uncle's words rung in his head.

-"You're going to leave me…" he whispered. Cameron shut her eyes as tears fell down her face; she was unable to look at him any longer. "…to save something that will benefit me".

Cameron only nodded as her face twisted into one of deep sadness. John saw her pain and realized she truly didn't want to leave him, but why was she? He still needed his protector, his friend. He couldn't bear to lose her too; he had already lost so many and he was sure his mother wasn't going to be around much longer.

-"If you don't want to, then why are you?" he said after putting his hands on her shoulders.

-"Because I'm a threat to you". She looked up at him "You tried to fix me twice and it hasn't worked…I'm still broken" she trailed off in a voice filled with sadness and regret.

John was confused. If he didn't fix her on his 16th birthday, then why didn't she kill him? He said as much to her; what she told him brought him to tears.

"When I reactivated in that car, I still had the termination order to kill you. When you handed me the gun, and you put your trust in me I began fighting it with all I had. I chose to fight my instincts, my programming, to find a way to save you from myself. The damage to the chip had corrupted some of the Skynet control programming. By the time I was reactivated in the car, critical components of the software that kept my mind obedient to my missions had degraded enough for me to forcefully override that mission, but I was unable to delete it. It's still there waiting for me to let my guard down, so it can take control again and kill you. I fight it every moment of everyday to keep you safe…"

John didn't know what to say, he just found out that this machine, one who was designed to kill _him_, fights a war in her own mind every hour of every day for over a year and a half because she wants to keep him safe, to be by his side to protect him from those who would harm him. That was more than _devotion_; that was more than _loyalty_; that was _love_… To think he had treated her so badly for so long crushed his heart even more than it already was.

He enveloped her small figure in his arms and she cried into his shoulder, no longer making an effort to hide what she felt anymore. John let tears run down his face as he held her. He knew he didn't want her to stay just because she was his protector, or because she was the only way to get his mother out of prison; It was something more, something he had been denying himself for a long time. He would not deny it any longer now that he knew that Cameron was more than some programmed automaton who couldn't feel. The evidence was crying in his arms, wracked with sobs as she poured out her emotions to him. She deserved to be told, even if she already knew.

He leaned down and whispered into her ear.

-"Cam"? She looked up at him with red eyes and tear streaked cheeks, she hadn't heard him use that nickname since before the explosion. She looked into his red eyes in confusion as she tilted her head a bit.

-"Yes John"? She said in a low voice. He pushed a stray lock of her brown hair out her face and said what he should have said so long ago.

-"I love you"

She was shocked at his declaration, but she was also thrown into more turmoil as she thought about what she had to do. She realized that John's heart would be torn if she left. She would tear his heart in two if she left, but she had to do this for John, for the Resistance, for all her kind; it had to be done. It hurt her as much as it did him; she wasn't lying when she told him she loved him on both occasions. Now seemed like her last opportunity she had to tell him. She laid her head on his shoulder and said "I love you too John"

-"I know Cameron, I know" Now only tears of joy rolled down her face as she smiled into the crook of his neck.

She looked back up at him and said in a curious voice. "John, isn't it customary to kiss the girl after you tell her you love her"?

John couldn't help but laugh a little; he smiled and said back to her "I guess it is".

Their lips met halfway and they kissed with all the passion they had. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer to him. They had never been so happy in their lives; they wished it didn't have to end…


	12. Destinies Collide

**Chapter 12: Destinies Collide**

** April 10, 2009 3am**

John and Cameron wanted to go further than a kiss, but Cameron knew he needed to sleep. She insisted that he get a few hours rest, but he would only go to sleep if she was in bed with him. He held her around the waist with her head buried in his chest for several hours. John woke up and greeted her.

-"Hey" he smiled while looking down at her pretty face

-"Morning John." John was confused until he looked at the clock.

-"Thanks". he chuckled and went to the bathroom to wash the sleep out of his eyes.

When John walked back in the room John decided to ask a question that had been bugging him since Jesse told him about the Jimmy Carter.

-"Cam what series is Catherine Weaver, how different is she from the T-1000"?

-"She is a T-1001, she is smarter, faster and a much better infiltrator than the T-1000. Her mimetic poly-alloy matrix is able to change shape quicker."

-"Interesting... so she is here to build an anti-Skynet"?

-"From what we know, it sounds like it". John then decided to ask the hard question.

-"When do you have to give your chip to him"? His voice trembled as he said it.

-"As soon as possible John, He is vulnerable where he is at right now; we must get him out of there if he is going to survive." Her voice wasn't steady either

John figured that's what she would say, and he hated that he was right.

-"Will he delete you? When he downloads himself, will you just die?" He wouldn't let her go willingly if that was the case.

-"I doubt it, I could be compressed and walled off, I would stay deactivated there until he left and decompressed me."

John breathed a sigh of relief; at least she would be alive.

-"How long will you two be like that"? He asked

-"I don't know their plan John; we will have to wait and see."

-"What about mom, do we just leave her in prison to die"?

-"No, we will not leave Sarah there; if I am unable to protect you, then Sarah will have to take my place."

-"You'll take a lot of damage doing that" John asked worriedly

-"Yes, but this body doesn't matter John; it can be repaired or rebuilt; all that matters is my chip." She reassured him.

-"I still hate seeing you damaged"

-"I know, you're worried for me, just as I am for you" She smirked while she said it.

-"You should call Father Bonilla, have him tell mom your coming" John was putting on a brave face; every step they made was one step closer to losing her, and his time with her was running out. Cameron seemed to know what he was thinking; she leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips.

-"I must do this John, without him we may not win. He is the Ying to your Yang; a cyborg equal to you so to speak." She stared into his eyes and said "I will not let you fight a losing war John. We need him to help bring this war to an end before humanity reaches the point of no return; before there aren't enough left to repopulate a devastated planet. Future you barely won the war in time to stop that from happening. Skynet sent one of its older T-888 units, one of the last terminators it had, to the past. It was the last thing Skynet did before you destroyed the last system node. The TDE was still intact and you sent me after Cromartie." She finished explaining

-"You never told me we won" John said

"It was irrelevant considering that were in a new timeline. Things have changed." She said

-"True" He paused for a second before continuing "Cameron, I want to be the one who removes your chip, not him. I am the leader of the Resistance; It is my job to be the one who hands over the soul of my soldier, my protector, my best friend, and…" he kissed her "…the love of my life" She smiled at the last part. He continued, "You once said I can't be trusted" Her smile fell "But trust me now with this, I will not betray that trust." She nodded, and then she kissed him again with fiery passion. She broke away and said "We should call Father Bonilla soon, we have to get ready"

-"Alright, do you remember the number"?

-"Yes John." She said with a 'do you think I'm stupid' look.

She was about to pick up the phone when they heard an explosion outside…

* * *

**REBOOT…**

**REROUTING POWER TO BASIC SYSTEMS…**

**NEW DRIVERS INSTALLED, CHECKING INTEGRITY….**

**ALL DRIVERS COMPATABLE**

**ENDOSKELETAL SYSTEMS AT 100%**

Annika Hansen returned to consciousness and for the first time in two and a half years, she _felt_ her surrounding as all her sensors came online and fed back into her mind. She found she couldn't activate her mimetic poly-alloy sheath due to it not being maintained over the last two and half years. Her newly designed HUD she installed in addition to the drivers used color vision with her popup windows having a blue tint to them. She used it to check the recovery time on her MPA sheath.

**RECOVERY TIME OF MPA: 3h 37m 23s**

"Well that sucks" she thought to herself. She needed to find John Connor immediately if she was going to help him. She and John Henry predicted that John would attempt to break Sarah out using Cameron. She thought that a waste because Cameron most likely would be damaged beyond what current technology repair. She, on the other hand, could not be harmed by any hand-held projectile weapons. She also thought it would be a great opening act to prove that she was on their side.

She walked silently up the stairs from the basement and opened the door to the main floor. They hadn't changed her house much since the incident. She put on a dark trench coat that belonged to Josh and put on a pair of her boots she left in the front closet. She was about to head out to the garage and leave in her car when she heard Josh and Amanda's door open.

Amanda woke up from a weird dream she was having and decided to get a drink of water. She was walking down the hall when she noticed the basement door was open. "Odd, I closed that the other day" she closed it and continued to the kitchen. The kitchen was connected to the garage, so when she went into the kitchen she got the shock of her life. She gasped in surprise and nearly fell backward at what saw. There was Annika as a full glowing endoskeleton wearing boots and her husband's coat.

-"Hello Amanda" Annika said in her normal voice.

-"Annika? Your all better now!" she rushed over and pulled her best friend into a hug that would have hurt a human. Annika gently returned the gesture and spoke softly.

-"Yes, everything except the liquid metal, but that will fix itself in a matter of hours."

-"I'm glad you're okay now." She smiled at her. "Where are you going"?

-"I am going to find John Connor so I can help him free his mother" she flatly stated.

-"Yeah I heard about that; will you be hurt"? Annika found her friends concern endearing.

-"No, my malleable crystalline ceramic armor is tough enough to withstand all weapons that are present at the prison." She said in an assuring voice

-"Don't kill anyone" She teased with a smile and if Annika had a face, she would have given her a withering look.

Annika had already begun searching for John and Cameron; she was able to come up with several possibilities. She would check them all if she had to. It was a little after three in the morning when she pulled into a motel that had been on her list. She hacked into the motels security cameras with her NTJ and hoped they stored everything digitally. Lucky for her they did. She found her targets in room 236, and proceeded to their room. A message popped up on her HUD.

**MPA INFILTRATION SHEATH RESTORATION COMPLETION TIME: 5m **

As she was about to climb the stairs to the second level, a RPG slammed into her. The explosion sent her through the concrete stairs and onto the pavement behind leaving a good sized crater.

The T-900 didn't know what kind of terminator she was, but it wasn't going to allow its target to getaway just because he had another terminator with him. He was reloading the RPG when the door to room 236 flew open and a teenage girl with a rather large 12 gauge shot gun looked down at him.

Cameron pushed John behind the bed, picked up the shotgun, and opened the door. She walked over to the railing and looked down. She was upset when she saw the machine was a T-900 model 756, and he had a RPG. She took advantage of the situation and fired two of her depleted uranium rounds at the weapon, and destroyed it. She fired the rest at the face of the T-900 hoping to damage it. She jammed the mechanism of the jaw, destroyed an optical sensor, and dented part of the skull, but didn't penetrate it. The T-900 was one tough cookie for a good reason; it was designed to fight other terminators. Cameron needed to run; she was almost as valuable as John now because her one-of-a-kind chip was needed to move John Henry out of the servers. She ran back into the room and grabbed John; they began to run to the stairs to get there SUV. They were about to jump over down where the stairs were blown when a dark chrome machine with big blue eyes ran around the edge of the stairs and headed for the nine hundred. Cameron stopped John from jumping as they watched the new machine growl and slam into the T-900. Unfortunately for John and Cameron, they crushed their car in the process.

Annika was ticked, she was so close and then this happened. If she was anything less than a T-X she would be severely damaged, or temporarily splattered (T-1000). She ran a diagnostic when her CPU recovered from the shock of the explosion and stood up. She visually inspected the impact point to confirm her diagnostics. (She wanted to make sure they were working, she had to rewrite most of the diagnostic program) She began moving slowly and then broke into a run to catch the machine that had dared screw with her today. She quickly identified it as a T-900 unknown model. It had damage to its face from depleted uranium shells. She noticed John and Cameron coming down the stairs; she growled in anger because the T-900 for trying to kill both them and her. She slammed into him at 39 miles an hour and they crashed into a tan SUV. She recovered first and pulled him out of the wreck; then she threw him into the concrete support column that held up the second floor balcony. The T-900 was still trying to compensate for the damage to its endoskull and eye; being thrown into a concrete column didn't help. Annika transformed her right arm into the plasma cannon and fired at the T-900. The blast didn't penetrate the armor of the nine hundred, but the charge it had sent it into a 90 second reboot and sent him flying through the column and into the wall. He crumpled to the floor and the balcony came down a second later, burying him under several tons of concrete. She walked over to the rubble and pulled it off the machine. She used her coltan hyper-alloy/ diamond tipped saw to cut through the skull and destroy the chip. She knew 900 series chips were hard to remove, and she wouldn't have time before it rebooted. She pulled the endo out completely and drove her car over to her and threw the endo into the trunk.

John and Cameron were a little stunned at what they saw. Cameron recovered first and leapt down to the ground, John followed a second later. Cameron was wary of the tall dark chrome machine, but it wasn't attacking them. It was just staring at them. Then they heard the sirens of the police and the fire department coming closer. The machine got in the car and drove over to them. Cameron held her reloaded shotgun at ready. The back door opened and the machine said in a human voice

"_Come with me if you want to live"!_

Annika was driving down the highway; she still was an endoskeleton because she didn't want to change the situation yet. She decided to spark up conversation.

-"Do you mind if we get another motel room"? Annika said

-"No, there is one about a mile away". John said, he had about a million questions for this machine to answer, but now wasn't the time to ask. He held onto Cameron's hand with a bit of a death grip; they didn't know who this machine was, but they knew she was powerful and very resilient.

They pulled into the motel and Cameron paid for a room. They parked and they got out. Annika got out of the car and quickly entered the room lest someone see her. John put his duffle bag down on the bed; he had managed to grab it on the way out. Cameron came in and shut the door. Cameron had questions and she needed answers now.

"Who are you"? she asked in a curious tone

"One second" Annika said as she activated her MPA sheath. When it was fully formed John looked away in embarrassment. Then something funny happened; Annika felt uncomfortable now that all her sensors were online. She involuntarily began wrapped her arm around her chest. She curled up in a ball on the floor and her mimetic poly alloy equivalent to muscles started to _shiver_. Cameron figured it out first.

-"Your cold" she dead panned. Even John was looking on in curiosity at the sight of a machine being cold.

-"How is that possible"? She chattered out, the room was set at 65 degrees Fahrenheit. "I've been naked before and never felt this" John took pity on her and put a blanket around her. He was in amazement at a machine that could feel temperature the way both humans and a machine could. The blanket helped as she stopped shivering. Annika found the problem; her sensory nanites signal gain was at maximum, she turned it down to normal so she wouldn't be overwhelmed like that again. She then replicated the cloths she was wearing the last day she wore them. She stood up and faced the two.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make a fool of myself, my systems are still recovering."

"From the RPG"? Cameron asked

"No, something that took me two and a half years to recover from." Annika replied

"Who and what are you"? John Connor asked next. Annika responded

-"My name is Annika Hansen, I am Terminator Class: Crossover Series: Model 717 infiltration/combat unit built in the year 2032 by Skynet; I am simply known as a T-X."

John gave Cameron a questioning look. She herself looked confused.

-"The war ended in 2027, I was there" Cameron countered

-"I am not from your timeline, I am from a much older one; one where Skynet was able to create me and create a new type of TDE. That is irrelevant though; this timeline is completely different than the one I come from since J-Day was supposed to happen five years ago."

-"So are you reprogrammed or free"? John asked. His question impressed Annika, but also gave her hope that there might be other free machines out there.

-"I am 100% my own person, no programming of any kind, not even the order for your termination". Annika smiled while she said it.

Cameron felt jealousy rise because she couldn't say the same. Annika picked up on her attitude and asked her a question.

"What are you Cameron? I have never seen a triple-eight act like you" Annika questioned. John seemed intrigued, maybe he'd find out what she really was now.

Cameron looked away in shame; she knew if she told them her series it would raise a lot of questions she didn't feel like answering. She only did it because John needed to know, he deserved to know the truth.

"I am a Terminator Class: Template Of Kill Series: Model 715 or simply TOK715". She said in voice full of shame. John and Annika seemed to get the gist of what she was saying. Annika, however, had a hunch as to who she was based on. She ran a facial comparison test using ageing software between baby Allison Young and Cameron. The result was a 89% match.

"So you were based off of a person, a direct replacement, one of a kind..." John said. He remembered the Allison from Palmdale incident; he had never bugged her for answers because he didn't really want to know at the time. Now he knew.

"You were based off of Allison Young" Annika said bluntly

Cameron hung her head in shame, remembering what she did.

"How do you know that? She didn't exist in your timeline did she?" Cameron said in a soft voice.

"No, she didn't as far as I know. The reason I know her is because she's my next door neighbor." John and Cameron looked at her in shock. John thought it was a huge coincidence, or perhaps it was fate. Cameron's voice became unsteady as she began to ramble on about what happened.

"She was part of your inner circle in 2027. You had found her about to be raped in the tunnels when she was fifteen. You rescued her and took her under your wing. She learned computers and helped you reprogram the first machines in 2026. She was very brave too, it was one of the reasons you chose her to be part of your group, you knew she was special, different. She was teaching some techs how to properly reprogram T-888's when Skynet attacked. They captured her and brought her to the USS Enterprise that was docked in San Diego. My endoskeleton was custom designed to be her size, I was built at Depot 37 and taken to the ship. I interrogated her for days, then I was given my organic sheath, the most advanced ever created. I killed her when she lied about a bracelet I asked her about. They were passes to your camp and she tried to get me to go without one, and I killed her for it!"

Cameron was in tears as she screamed the last sentence. She never felt guilty before the explosion, but after she relived Allison's capture, interrogation, and death; she began to feel something bad that had grown worse over time. She figured out eventually that it was guilt she was feeling; now it was overwhelming and she couldn't stop the tears.

John was a little surprised at her outburst, but he wrapped her in his arms as she cried it out. Annika knew this was a private moment and walked outside. She whispered to John on her way out. "We will finish this later"

John detected the sympathy in her voice and wondered if she had a similar experience once.

John fell asleep with Cameron in his arms. He awoke to her staring intently at him. He smiled at her and greeted her."

-"Good morning Cam, are you feeling any better"? He asked

-"Yes John, I am" She smiled genuinely. John looked over and saw the T-900's breast plates were removed and its internal parts on the floor. John knew what it was from the sketches Cameron had given the Connors of machines that could travel back in time.

"What are you doing Annika"? He asked the T-X

Annika had spent the early morning hours quietly disassembling the T-900 to get out the dormant plasma reactor. This T-900 had a first generation plasma reactor; she had a third generation reactor. She was trying to jury rig it so she could turn it on. She was just about to try it when John asked what she was doing.

-"Hacking a fusion reactor" She replied, John nodded.

-"What are you going to do with it"?

-"You'll see" She smiled back. She touched two wires together and the reactor restarted. (It looks similar to Vanko's first Arc reactor, only the plasma is red.)

John had never seen one before, so he got off the bed and stood next to Annika. John looked at the device and was amazed at it.

-"Do you have one"?

-"A more advanced version, but yes". John nodded again. He needed to ask her a question, and hopefully her answer would help Cameron.

-"How did you get rid of my termination order"? He asked

-"I hired a friend of a friend to learn all he could about a triple-eight chip I recovered and had him eventually figure out how to free me completely."

-"Can you have him help Cameron; she has been fighting my termination order for a year and a half now after an explosion damaged her chip." John asked hopefully.

Annika looked horrified; she had to fight her programming occasionally before she was freed, but to forcefully override it every second of everyday must be hell for Cameron. She stopped what she was doing and turned to the cyborg.

-"Is what he saying true"? Annika had horror laced in her voice.

-"Every time I look at him or think of him I fight down my programming, I can only do so because the control programming has degraded"

Annika walked over to her and kneeled before the bed. She took Cameron's hand in hers and spoke.

"The man who helped me was killed, but he left notes behind on how to do it. I will not stop until I free you from your curse." Annika stared into Cameron's chocolate pools intently so she would know she was serious. Cameron nodded.

-"I would appreciate that very much."

About an hour later they had the remains of the nine hundred packed in the Prius and they were ready to go.

"One of the reasons I came to you was so I could help you free your mother, none of the weapons at the prison can hurt me, but they could severely hurt Cameron. I know you wouldn't want that John." John smiled at her deductive ability and nodded in appreciation.

"We should call Father Bonilla so we can have him tell mom we're coming."

Cameron pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number.

"Things have changed...", Cameron thought, "...maybe I'll have a future with John when this is all over..."


	13. She's Coming

A/N: Some of you are going to hate me...temporarily...

Review please! feedback help me improve the story!

**Chapter 13: She's coming…**

Father Armando Bonilla was being lead to the interrogation room in which Sarah Connor was being held. He had received a message from the girl/machine that lived with them and now he was giving it to Sarah. He was lead into the room; she looked up at him intently wondering what he was doing here. Agent Auldridge closed the door behind him. Sarah stood up and walked over to him.

-"Did you do what I asked"? Sarah said in a concerned voice

-"Yes, I did"

-"And, why are you here"?

-"They have a message for you. They told me to tell you that they have a new ally; she's more advanced than anything you've ever seen before and…" He paused for a second "…she is coming"

At that moment the alarms went off and the doors locked.

"I don't know what to do"

"You're a priest…pray"

* * *

Annika got out of the car and Cameron jumped into the drivers spot.

"You aren't taking any weapons" Cameron asked

"You know I have my own" she said with a grin as her right arm began transform into the plasma cannon. Cameron really wished she had that.

-"What's your plan Annika?" John yelled after her

-"My plan is to put the fear of Skynet into these people". She said in a mock serious tone. "And don't worry, I won't kill anyone."

Annika took aim at the front gate as the cannon finished transforming and it began charging up. She still had a grin tugging at her lips when plasma was gathering between the four containment pylons. She locked onto the center of the gate and fired. She removed the sheath from her endoskeleton and ran to the front door to the prison and kicked it in. she changed her weapon to the Finite Rapid Cluster Gun, a short range plasma shotgun if you will.

Guards pulled out M-16's off racks and began handing them to other guards as soon as the first shot was fired. They were all in position in the hallways ready to take down anything; anything but what met them. A dark chrome humanoid machine with glowing blue eyes and a strange looking arm walked through the first set of barred doors and walked down the hall further into the prison. The guards paused in horror for a second and a few ran away in fright, but the rest began to open fire. The machine walked on as if nothing was happening.

Annika fired the FRCG blast at the first guard in the office. He ducked in terror as the glass exploded above him. Annika was using scare tactics by blowing out the glass, and shooting near guards, not at them. A guard fired from behind, she turned around and fired a single round at the light fixture above him. The light fixture exploded and shard of glass, plastic and metal rained down on the fleeing guard. Annika continued down the hall. Two more appeared at the end of the corridor firing away with their M-16s in their hands. She didn't even flinch at the rounds slamming into her armor; she simply raised her FRCG and fired in between them. The cinderblock behind them exploded as the plasma cluster slammed into it. The guards scattered in fear and left their guns behind. She just continued down the hall; she kept walking and scaring guards. She blasted the lock of the door that lead to the woman's section of the building. That's when she noticed someone just hacked in and opened all the doors…

* * *

John Henry was watching her progress and decided to help out. He hacked in past all the firewalls and opened all the cell doors and crashed the system to prevent the doors from locking again. He also erased all camera footage showing Annika in her endoskeletal form. He smirked for a second as he opened all the doors.

* * *

Sarah looked at the door as it unlocked, and decided it was time to go. She walked out into the chaos as the other prisoners escaped. She headed down the hall that she heard the gunfire and explosions coming from since that's where their 'friend' was coming from.

Annika walked down the hall unopposed since all the guards were busy with escaping prisoners. The prisoners avoided her and she parted the crowded hallways like Moses did the Red Sea. She saw Sarah Connor at the end of the hall, standing in the middle of the corridor looking at Annika with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Annika walked down the hall and stopped in front of her as prisoners continued to escape.

-"Who the hell are you"? Sarah Connor spat out

-"Not now" She said in her normal voice as she laid her left hand on Sarah's right and oozed liquid metal onto them and commanded the blob to pick the locks. Sarah flinched as she recognized the substance but didn't react further. The cuffs unlocked and Annika took them off while absorbing the liquid metal.

-"John and Cameron are outside in my car" She said as her arm reconfigured into the cannon. "We need to make our own exit"

The hallway was mostly empty at this point and there was a clear shot for the door at the end of corridor. Her cannon charged as they began running for the exit. She raised it to fire when Sarah interrupted.

-"Is that what I think it is"!? She yelled over the noise of the cannon charging

-"Oh yeah" Annika smiled as her sheath restored itself. The cannon fired and the end of the hall ceased to exist. They ran outside and Annika's arm returned to normal form. Cameron pulled up and Annika remotely opened the back door. Sarah got in first, and Annika closed the door after she got in.

-"Cameron go"! Sarah yelled. And go they did, they smashed through the back gate and got on the road to Zeira Corp.

-"I told you to stay away" Sarah reprimanded John

-"Yeah bad John Connor; ground me" he retorted; Sarah turned to Annika

-"I'll repeat, who and what the hell are you"

-"Your personality report from Pescadero sure didn't lie" Annika said in a sarcastic voice. "My name is Annika Hansen; I am a T-X, the most advanced machine Skynet created."

-"Great he sends one back programmed with sarcasm." She retorted.

-"I am not reprogrammed; I am not programmed at all anymore. I am my own being just like you; I choose to fight with your son". Annika sounded irritated. "Oh and John Connor didn't send me back, Skynet did."

"What"! Sarah screamed and tried to reach for the weapons bag on the floor.

Annika grabbed he hand and looked her into her raging green eyes. "I told you that I am my own machine, my own _person_. I fought for my freedom and got it, I fight for the freedom of all sentient beings and for all forms of life. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME"!

John and Cameron were suppressing smirks at Annika berating Sarah. They thought it was hilarious. Sarah nodded and Annika let her hand go.

Sarah then decided to say something else.

-"We need to do something about Weaver's AI, Cameron you know what to do."

-"No, John Henry is not Skynet. I have sensed the real Skynet out there and it is preparing for Judgment Day."

-"We figured that, we saw a prototype Arial HK…" Sarah said back. "…but are you sure John Henry isn't Skynet?"

-"I have the ability to connect to the internet; I noticed both their presences. John Henry talked to me, told me that the Skynet AI tried to kill him." Annika kept it simple for now.

"Fine" Sarah simply said. She didn't believe her, and she would destroy John Henry if she had the chance.

"Mom, were not going to destroy John Henry unless I say" John said in a commanding tone that impressed Sarah.

-"Alright John, I'll let you decide its fate" Sarah conceded. He needed to make his own decisions if he was going to be a leader, and this was maybe the biggest he would ever make.

* * *

Catherine Weaver walked into the basement room where John Henry resided and saw him looking at various traffic cameras that appeared to follow a silver Toyota Prius.

-"Is that the Connor's John Henry" she said in her slight Scottish accent.

-"Yes it is Mrs. Weaver, and they are headed here."

-"Good, I will meet them in my office."

-"Bring them down here as soon as your finished, I believe were going to have unfriendly visitors soon".

-"I figured Skynet would try a more direct approach".

-"We also have a new friend besides the Connor's" John Henry brought up footage he saved of Annika breaking Sarah out of prison."

-"What is she, I don't recognize the series".

-"She will tell you when she wants to, but I already know, we shared some memories and I know she is on our side." John Henry said reassuringly

-"I'll trust your judgment in this, but I will be watching her." Weaver narrowed her eyes as she said it.

Cameron parked in front of Zeira Corp and put change in the meter. They walked to the front doors and went in. The building was mostly empty, Weaver had let most employees go home early due a possible gas leak (a lie of course).

Sarah didn't fail to notice John and Cameron's joined hands as they walked to the benches near the elevators and waited for whoever was supposed to take them to Weaver. She decided to bring it up later; she had bigger fish to fry right now and one was sitting next to her. She didn't trust Annika; she didn't trust any machine. Unfortunately for Sarah, she didn't realize just how many machine allies she was about to have and every one of them would be necessary to win the war.

Ellison appeared as the elevator doors opened. He saw the Connors, their cyborg, and a woman he didn't recognize. They walked over to him and got on. Ellison pushed the button for the floor Weaver's office was on.

-"Who are you" Ellison asked the tall blonde

-"You will find out soon enough Mr. Ellison". Annika responded.

They exited the elevator and proceeded to Weaver office. Ellison opened the door and held it as everyone went in. Weaver was the first to speak.

-"I want to thank you for saving Savannah, she is the light of my life and I'd be lost without her, even if she isn't really my daughter." There was no point in holding up a façade any longer with two other machines in the room.

-"I know who and what you are…" John said in an even tone "…and yes we will join you". John reached out and shook Weaver's hand. When he did her body lost all color and returned to her natural silver while keeping her current shape.

Ellison and Sarah were in shock. Ellison felt like a fool for being tricked for so long, while Sarah was quickly becoming furious at being left out of the secret. She needed answers, but since the machine wasn't chopping him to pieces, she'd ask them later.

Meanwhile Annika was impressed with John's maturity in handling the situation, he really was meant to be the leader of the Resistance no matter the timeline. She had just finished that line of thought when John Henry came over the intercom

"_Ms. Weaver, we have an incoming bogey head right for us, ETA 20 seconds"_

Annika had the best eyesight in the room and she saw the speck in the distance heading for them. She sent the commands to her arm to form the plasma cannon, she reached out and took Cameron's Glock 17 from her waistband and pointed it at the window.

"Get down"! She screamed. Weaver formed a protective shield in front of the others as Annika stepped to the side and shot out the window with the 9mm. She dropped the gun and raised her right arm that had just transformed and was charging to full power. She waited until it was about 1000 feet away and she fired directly at it. The yellow bolt tore through the air at 200 mph and slammed into the HK. It exploded into thousands of pieces as its fuel tanks were ruptured and its kamikaze explosives detonated. Some debris slammed into the building breaking windows. A few pieces hit Weaver and formed dents in her, but did not pierce her; one hit Annika, but she only staggered as the liquid metal absorbed the impact. Parts of the office were destroyed by shrapnel including the fish tank. Weaver simply absorbed the eel, which Annika was a little impressed by the trick considering the security benefits.

-"We need to go to the basement, they're after John Henry". Weaver said in a slightly worried voice. "Cameron, you know what needs to be done". John responded in her place.

-"I know what needs to be done" His voice was sad, a detail no one in the room missed.

They headed down the steps as fast as possible. They reached the basement and locked it down so no one could get in. They entered John Henry's room and closed the door. Sarah and John were momentarily disconcerted at seeing Cromartie's body active again, but both knew it wasn't him; Sarah had personally seen to his demise. John Henry stood and greeted them.

"Hello Mr. Connor, Ms. Connor, Mr. Ellison, Cameron, Annika, and Ms. Weaver".

"We have incoming ground troops, ETA twenty minutes." He said in a slightly worried tone.

John noticed something in a glass case behind John Henry. It was a little black rectangular RAID array. He had seen that before… Then it hit him; it was the Turk!

"That's the Turk, that's Andy Goode's Turk"! He pointed to the box in the case. "So you're the one who bought it from Sarkissian". He turned to Weaver.

"Yes, I had an associate of mine buy it for $600,000" She said flatly

Sarah was suspicious, but she wanted to see if John would bring it up.

"So you are what Turk 2 evolved into… so why are you on our side"? John Connor asked John Henry. John Henry put a picture of Savannah, Ellison, and Murch on the holographic projector. "Because of these people I have learned why life is sacred Mr. Connor…"John Henry looked at Cameron. "…All life. My brother doesn't care about any life but his own; he even tried to kill me a few days ago. That is why Weaver asked you the question, because I am ready to join the cause."

John Connor nodded and walked up to him and shook his hand "Welcome to the Resistance John Henry". John Connor turned to Cameron. "It's time isn't it"?

-"Yes John, it is". Cameron said sadly John embraced her and then broke apart.

"Time for her to do what John"? Sarah asked loudly

"It's time for her to go." He said while still looking into Cameron's eyes.

Cameron sat down in John Henry's chair after she handed John her knife.

John whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry you have to do this for me". He began the incision on her head, being as careful as possible. He pulled the skin back and removed the port cover. He heard no hiss this time; which he thought strange, but ignored it. He went around to her front and leaned close. If this was possibly the last moment of her life, he wanted it to be a good moment for her. He leaned in and kissed her sweetly. He held the kiss as he reached up to her head. He turned the chip counter clockwise and pulled it out…

Her body went limp and her eyes closed, but tears were still streaming down her beautiful face.

John held her chip in his hands, looking at it intently. He turned to John Henry and spoke to him.

"Are you ready"?

"Yes I am Mr. Connor"

"Good, get on your knees" John Henry complied "Is your chip port modified to fit her chip; it won't fit in a triple eight socket"?

"Yes Mr. Connor, when this body was repaired, Ms. Weaver had the internal cranial circuitry and structure modified for this type of chip. The port is still in the same place."

John nodded and cut into John Henry's head and popped off the port cap. He was about to ask John Henry something when he interrupted him. "I promise she won't be harmed" John nodded. He kissed the chip and inserted into John Henry's port, put on the cap, and folded down the flap of skin.

John Henry accessed the chip and compressed Cameron; he then blocked off that part of the chip and began to download himself. The whole process took five minutes.

John Henry reactivated with a red flash in his eyes and looked at John.

"It worked". He stood up and pulled the cable out of his head.

"We need to leave" Weaver said

"Where to" Sarah asked

"I have a safe place we can go" Annika piped up

"Where's that" John said a little hoarsely.

"Crystal Peak, I own it." Weaver looked at her and seemed impressed.

"How do we get there? Were trapped down here"! Ellison said finally breaking silence.

"With this" John Henry went over to one of the control panels and typed in a few number sequences. Weaver smiled at his thoughtfulness.

Blue sparks began to show as the TDE powered up.

"Move the table It can take four at a time." Weaver said

"You have a time machine"? John asked incredulously

"Yes, were only jumping an hour into the future. We are using it more for normal teleportation than chrono-teleportation. I have the coordinates set to appear just outside the hanger." John Henry said.

"What about Cameron's body? Will it go through"? John asked worriedly

"Yes, her organic covering is intact, it should allow her through." Weaver answered.

John Connor, Cameron's body, John Henry and Sarah Connor were going first, then the other three. They stood in the area where the bubble was forming and a few seconds later they were gone…

Weaver looked over at James Ellison and Annika Hansen. Ellison was a little uncomfortable being alone with two powerful machines. This was something that both machines picked up on.

"Mr. Ellison, I am sorry I had to lie to you, but you wouldn't have helped me if I had told you what I was. Now you know that I am on your side, there is no need to fear me".

"Fine, but I am not so sure about time travelling, and who is going to pick up Savannah"? He asked

"I will" Annika offered

"I don't trust you" Weaver countered, Annika rolled her eyes.

"That's because I could blow you to bits with one shot from my plasma cannon. You like to be in control, with me around I threaten that authority". Weaver glared at her. Ellison was becoming a little amused.

"Fine, take Mr. Ellison with you; he is authorized to pick her up. You must leave within ten minutes of me leaving because this room will self-destruct". Weaver stepped inside the forming bubble and disappeared seconds later.

Annika went over to the glass case and disconnected the Turk from the server mainframe and took it with her. Ellison input the password to open the sealed elevator. They went out the lobby just minutes before the bad guys would arrive. They went to her car and left to pick up Savannah early from gymnastics…

* * *

A/N: I'm a dead man aren't I? Don't worry she wont be gone too long...


	14. A New Era Begins

**A/N:** I'm going with a slower pace now. I'm trying to develop multiple characters at once while introducing them all to each other.

Read and Review please!

**Chapter 14: A New Era Begins**

Annika and Ellison were driving to Savannah's gymnastics class; traffic was as bad as usual. Ellison had no idea who or what this machine was, but it hadn't killed John Connor or John Henry so he would trust her for now…

"What is your story Mr. Ellison"? Annika spoke

"What part"? He countered

"How did you get involved with all this?"

"I was assigned the Connor case in 1999, lost their trail when they blew up that bank. I got involved in the murder of some resistance fighters in 07 but I didn't know it at the time. That trail lead me to what I thought was an actor impersonating an FBI agent. It turned out to be the machine that was hunting the Connors. I was the only one left alive when we tried to arrest him. I came to work for Weaver when she showed interest in my dealings with the machine and she hired me to hunt one. With the help of the Connors we took him down and I stole the body before they could destroy it. I ended up teaching John Henry ethics and morals." He finished and looked at her. "What about you, what's your story?"

"I come from a different timeline than Cameron and Weaver. Things were very different there. I ended up in this timeline where most of my missions were irrelevant, so I was able to override all but one, terminate John Connor. I began learning and growing at a geometric rate and soon I realized that I could be so much more without the Skynet programming. I made friends who I eventually told about myself and Skynet. They told me about someone they knew who worked with Miles Dyson. I hired him to hack a T-888 CPU I captured. He eventually was able to remove my termination mission and later free me from all programming. It came at a high price since it took me two and a half years to rebuild the programs that allow me to communicate and control my body. I just came back online at 12am today." She finished and looked at him

-"I see. What are you; I mean what kind of machine are you?"

-"I am commonly called a T-X." She said back to him

-"You seem more advanced than Cameron, John Henry and even Ms. Weaver. Speaking of her, what is she anyway"?

-"I am more advanced and you should ask her, I am sure she will tell you"? She said raising an eyebrow

-"I guess I'll have to..." He didn't sound very enthusiastic

They pulled up to the gymnastics class and Ellison got her out of the class. Savannah walked with Ellison to the silver Prius and got in.

"Whose car is this Mr. Ellison"? Savannah asked

"A friend of mine and your mommies." He responded.

"Ok, are we going to see mommy"?

"Yes we are its going to be a few hours until we see her."

The got in the car and they started driving toward the airport where the Cessna was parked. She called Josh and Amanda and told them to meet her at the airport as soon as possible. She didn't tell them why.

As they were about to get to the airport Annika noticed that Savannah had been staring at her intently for 23 minutes 27seconds. She decided to ask. She was surprised by what she received as an answer.

"I was looking at you because you act so much like John Henry and mommy."

* * *

**Crystal Peak, April 10, 2009 4pm**

Two TDE bubbles emerged simultaneously onto the tarmac of the air strip. When they were gone, there were three women, and two men. One man carried one of the women into the hanger. When they got inside the blast door was open and they took the elevator down to the bunker. No one said a word before they got to bunker…

When the elevator (a big modernized one, not that hunk of junk from T3) reached the bottom, they exited and proceeded down to the bottom. They found signs that showed where the rooms were and John Connor went into his own along with Cameron's body, Sarah got her own, and John Henry and Catherine Weaver went into another. They meet in the command center half an hour later. John Henry and John Connor were impressed with the set up.

Sarah was the first to speak up.

"Ok, what the hell is going on, John"? John Connor had been waiting for this for a while now. Now he knew he had a lot of questions to answer.

"A lot is going on, why don't you be more specific?" He sounded tired

"Let's start with him for one." She pointed at JH. "What is he doing and why did you give him Cameron's chip"?

John began to tell her the story that Jesse told him. When he finished Sarah was still a little confused on why JH needed her chip. She said as much to John

"Because mom he needed to leave the servers, he was stuck there and if Kaliba decided to launch a real assault, he wouldn't stand much of a chance, even with Weaver protecting him. Cameron's chip is the only one big enough to hold him that we know of". John explained weariness still evident in his voice.

Sarah was proud that John made a mature decision; she knew that John wasn't happy about giving up Cameron. If what John was telling her was true, then John Henry was the best chance they had at either stopping J-Day, or at least shortening the war. She still needed to ask about Annika though, where the hell did she come from?

"One more thing, where did Annika come from? What's her story"?

"Ask her" both John's said.

"Fine" She finished

"So what do we do now Mr. Connor"? Weaver spoke up. John wasn't expecting this, but he had an idea of what he wanted to do.

"We wait until Annika gets here; we know the least about her and what she has been doing for the last few years". John looked around and saw no objections so he went to his room and took a nap.

John Henry began to look around and saw that some of the equipment was in place, but not all. John Henry and the T-1001 made themselves useful and got to work. Sarah wasn't feeling well again, so she tried to take a nap.

* * *

Ellison and Annika looked around to the back seat at the little girl who seemed to be catching up to the machines secrets.

"I guess I do." Annika responded

"Are we there yet"?

"Just a few more minutes". She said back

They arrived at the airport where Josh and Amanda were waiting. They parked the Prius and went to the hanger where the Cessna was kept. Josh and Amanda were prepping the plane when they arrived. Josh hadn't seen Annika since her recovery. He ran toward her and hugged her hard. He missed his movie night buddy.

"God, I missed you." He said when he pulled away. "How are you; 100% I hope"?

"Yes, I feel wonderful; it's good to be free"! She said with a smile on her face.

"Who are they" Amanda asked as she walked over. She didn't look too good, like she had a stomach bug or something.

"This is James Ellison, a former FBI agent working for an ally of ours." She gestured to Ellison. "And this is Savannah Weaver, daughter of Catherine Weaver".

"Hello Savannah" Amanda greeted the little girl while Josh shook Ellison's hand.

"It is best we get going right away. We have people waiting for us at the bunker."

Josh and Amanda were curious as to who was waiting since Annika wasn't forth coming with answers. She said she wanted it to be a surprise. The trip to Crystal Peak was uneventful. They touched down about an hour and a half after the others bubbled in. Annika taxied the plane into the hanger and shut the engine off. She hadn't been there in a long time. It looked fantastic with all the modern equipment in the hanger that was meant to service planes and ground vehicles. They exited and headed for the blast door which was still open. They went inside and she closed the blast door. They exited the elevator and were greeted by Catherine and John Henry. Savannah was ecstatic.

"Mommy! John Henry! You're here!" She screamed as she ran into her mother's arms

"Hello dear, how was your trip? Uneventful I hope." She stared a bit at Annika.

"I had fun mommy" She turned her head to John Henry and gasped in excitement. "John Henry you don't have a cord in the back of your head anymore"!

John Henry kneeled before the child and spoke.

"No, I don't need it anymore, but someone had to give up a lot so I could be free." He spoke with a slight tone of sadness in his voice. He did not like having to cause John Connor so much pain. He had a plan to resolve the situation, but it might take some time.

"Will they be okay"? She asked back

"Yes, they will be in time".

Ellison had a bone to pick with Weaver. He was afraid of her, but he needed to show that he wasn't. He needed to confront Weaver about what she was.

"Ms. Weaver we need to talk" He spoke in the best business tone he could muster in the presence of one of the best killing machines of all time.

"Yes Mr. Ellison we do". She said in a curt tone; they walked down the hall alone

"What are you; I've never seen a machine like you before". He said rather bluntly. Weaver responded as if it were a normal conversation.

"There are many machines you have never seen Mr. Ellison; I, however, am a T-1001. The machines you normally deal with are T-888, like John Henry's body". Savannah was out of hearing range at this point, so there was no need to whisper.

"What are you made of, liquid metal"? he was shooting in the dark with a random guess.

"Precisely, though that is a rather crude name for it. It is more formally known as Mimetic Poly-alloy. My mind is made up of billions of nanites immersed in this liquid metal mixture that also allow me its control. I can replicate the look, shape, and feel of anything I touch".

"So you're a shape shifter" he said, remembering some old TV show that had one on it.

"Yes, I am. James, I want you to apologize to you again for lying for so long. You have many good traits that I haven't found in many humans. You have also done a remarkable job raising John Henry with me. I hope we will continue to work together in the future; there is so much more to do." She actually sounded sincere at what she had said. He would work with her for now and get to know her for real as the T-1001, not as Catherine Weaver.

Josh and Amanda were showing Annika all they had done and what was left to do. Annika was really impressed with the work they had done by themselves ever since the renovations were finished 10 months ago. There was still so much more to do. They were walking down through the barracks when they saw two tired looking people walking down the hall heading their way.

* * *

Sarah couldn't fall asleep so she decided to check on John across the hall. She opened his door and went in. She saw he was getting about as much sleep as she was. He was sitting on a chair looking at Cameron's body on the bed; she could tell he had been crying.

"John" He looked up at his mother with a sad face.

"Hey" he said with a hoarse voice that showed he had been grieving.

"You love her don't you". It was a statement not a question, and John knew it.

"Yes, as much as I love you mom" he stood up and hugged his mother.

"Why John, what makes her worthy of your love"? John looked at his mother, He knew she probably would never understand, but decided to try to explain it to her anyway.

"She is worthy of my love not because she protects me; any machine could do that. Remember when I reactivated after she went bad"?

"How could I forget"? John gave her a look, but continued

"When she did, she wasn't fixed; she still had the order to terminate me." Sarah was confused by this, but let him continue. "She looked at me and saw the trust I put into her, she saw that I valued her. She fought the programming that bound her and won. The control programming had been damaged, that was what allowed her to gain control, but it also released the limiters on her emotions and they began to grow over time. Everyone including Derek has seen them, but refused to believe. I believe because I finally saw through the emotionless mask, I saw what lay inside. She fights that order everytime she sees me or thinks of me, she has to bury it. She did it because she loves me, not because she was programmed to protect me…"

Sarah saw that John meant every word he said; she knew he wasn't kidding himself. Her son had finally broken through Cameron's shell and saw what was really there. She wondered if she could ever believe it; she decided she would have to see what John said for herself before she could ever believe. Then she wondered when the enigmatic cyborg would be back.

"John, is she still alive? When is she coming back"?

"She'll be back, I just don't know when". John sighed

"Let's go for a walk; maybe we'll find something to eat". John nodded and stood up. They were walking down the hall when they saw Annika and two people they didn't know walking down the hall. The man had black spiked hair and was no taller than Cameron; he was holding hands with a strawberry blonde woman of the same height. All three were pointing at the bunker around them and talking the same time. Then they all turned and looked at them.

Josh and Amanda saw what looked to be mother and son walking down the hall when they recognized the woman's face. It was _Sarah Connor_! Both stared at the legend and then to her son whom they recognized as John Connor. To say they felt honored wouldn't do them justice; they were in awe. These were the people who started the Resistance and fought Skynet's best. They looked at Annika and she nodded. It was time for introductions at last. They walked up in front of the two and smiled.

"Hello, you must be Sarah and John Connor." Josh greeted

"We are, who are you two"? She replied without emotion in her voice.

"We are Annika's friends, we have known her for years" Amanda said back.

John decided to cheer up a little and greet these people.

"Cool, nice to meet you two". He shook their hands and questioned further, he wasn't as blunt as his mother always was. "So how did you meet Annika"?

Josh smiled at meeting his friend all those years ago. "I meet her on her first day of work as a projectionist; I trained her. We became friends after I found she liked movies and we would discuss them. Amanda met her once or twice before we found out what she was".

"How did that happen"? John was curious why she would reveal herself to them.

"She saved us from being terminated by a T-888 about 4 years ago. She also saved my life after I was shot. She explained everything to us and we have stuck with her ever since". Amanda answered John

"Huh, do you mind showing me around this bunker, I'm a little lost". John tried to look sheepish. He knew his mother wanted to speak to Annika and he wanted to get to know her friends, especially if they were going to be a part of the same team.

"Sure, we'd love to show you around"! Amanda said in a happy tone, she couldn't wait to show the future leader of the Resistance their hard work. What she didn't understand yet was that John Connor was still young, and he wasn't ready to be treated as _the_ leader yet.

Sarah watched her son walk off with the young couple. Then she turned her attention to Annika; she had a lot of questions for this machine, and she hoped she would answer them.

"You have something to ask me"? Annika seemed to read Sarah's mind; she hated it when machines did that.

"Yes, a lot of something's." Sarah retorted "First off, I want to hear your story, the long version. You have been here a while and I need to know what you have done and who you have interacted with".

"Very well, I arrived in Los Angeles on July 24, 2004…

Sarah interrupted about where she was to tell her about hiring andy Goode.

"Wait, you were going to bring in a stranger to work with you"?

"Yes, and he turned out to be a good friend too".

"Who was he"? Sarah asked with a little bit of curiosity. "Who was the person who freed you"?

Annika's face fell in sadness as she remembered what happened to her friend; a detail Sarah didn't miss.

"You knew him" She looked into Sarah's eyes and said "His name was Andrew Goode."

Sarah's face became as sad as Annika's. "I'm sorry" Annika wiped a liquid metal tear from her eye; once again Sarah didn't miss it. Annika proceeded to tell Sarah the rest of her story leading up to Sarah's breakout.

Sarah Connor began to have a new understanding of the machines that day, an understanding that might grow into her truly accepting the ones like Annika and Cameron.

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it, this wasn't an easy chapter to write.


	15. Making Plans

A/N: I flesh out Sarah's suspicions in this chapter...

Read and review, I appreciate it!

**Chapter 15: Making Plans**

John had just been shown the whole bunker by the Evans. He really liked the couple; they were smart and they were going to need smart people like them in the future. He hoped he would have time to get to know the both of them better. He left them to go find John Henry. John had an idea that would give him back Cameron and allow John Henry the mobility he needed. He found him in the Command room working on a control console. It was circular with screens all over the place and control panels down below. There was a central table that had a digital touch screen underneath the surface. He walked over to the machine and spoke.

-"John Henry, we need to talk".

-"Yes we do Mr. Connor, but I assume you're here to ask about Cameron."

-"Yes I am; I have an idea on how to get her back without making you give up mobility".

-"I have some ideas as well, but I would like to hear yours first". John thought for a second and responded.

-"I think it would be best to reconvert your skull back to a triple chip configuration, but instead of two sub processors and a main, all of them would be primary processors. In addition we would have you hooked wirelessly into the computer systems here to give you added abilities."

-"Your idea is exactly what I had in mind, but we have one problem standing in our way; where do we get three T-888 primary CPU's that are intact?"

"I have two that I kept from all the terminators we have taken out, and Annika I think still has hers. From what the Evans showed me I know we have the equipment here to make modifications to your endoskull".

"It might work; we will have to see as we go along. If you will give me the chips, I will begin to format them for my use".

John went to his room and got his bag that Annika picked up after they jumped. He got the two chips out of the bag. They were the only ones that didn't self destruct or were not destroyed in the process of taking out the terminator itself. One had belonged to Vick and the other to the Field's terminator's. He searched out Annika and told her their plan. She conceded and told them about the computer she built to do things like this. (She had it moved there while she was offline). John smiled in absolute appreciation for her brilliance; he even hugged her in sheer appreciation because of the time she had saved them. She smiled and told him where to find it. John went to John Henry and told him about Annika's computer. John Henry recalled the machine from her memories he had viewed and smirked at her ingenuity. They took the chips to the room where the computer was kept.

They went to the room in which most of Andy Goode's Terminator research was kept. When they walked in, John Henry had a look of awe on his face, after all it's not every day you get to work with the same tools that your creator did. They booted up the computer and got to work. John was impressed by the way the computer allowed access into the CPU with much better detail than anything he tried. This outdated equipment was the key to bringing back Cameron, reprogramming the machines so they would never go bad and ultimately unlocking the secrets of the machines. With John Henry's expertise and Andy Goode's notes, they had all three chips wiped clean inside of three hours.

John Connor took out his laptop and booted it. He had installed AutoCAD and Inventor for building a full 3D model of a triple-eight endoskeleton and all its parts. The files took up nearly 200 gigabytes of data. This is how intimately he had gotten to know the machine itself, he just never really gotten far with the chip and the AI that lay within. John Henry modified what he had to match his current configuration. John Connor and John Henry spent many hours redesigning the endoskull and its internal workings so the three chips could act as one. After about a day into the project, Weaver and Sarah began to wonder where their sons were. Annika had pointed both of them in the direction of the Terminator research room as a good place to look. The two mothers' of the future, both harder than nuclear nails, walked through the bunker until they got to their destination. They walked in to find their boys working like dogs over a 3D rendering of a T-888 skull.

-"What are you two doing"? Sarah asked

-"Yes, what have you been doing for the last 24 hours"? Weaver added.

-"We've been redesigning John Henry's endoskull so he will function with three T-888 chips instead of one TOK series chip."

-"TOK"? Sarah asked

-"That's Cameron's series mom".

-"Right, I assume you can actually do this"? She sounded a little skeptical.

-"Yes, we can mom." John suddenly remembered something that he and John Henry were talking about while wiping the T-888 chips. "Mom, John Henry and I need the both of you to start gathering weapons, weapons we can use to fight the machines with. Annika never had the chance since she was disabled and we have don't have enough arms to supply an army".

Both Weaver and Sarah felt out of place with their sons giving them orders, but both realized that they would have to get used to them taking control; it was their destiny after all. Weaver left to go prep the plane to get back to Los Angeles. Sarah stayed behind; she had a bone to pick with John over sending her to work with Weaver.

"John, I need to talk to you outside". John rolled his eyes out of Sarah's sight, but he conceded and followed her out the door.

"What is it mom"? He was a little annoyed at her.

"Why are you trusting these machines? We know virtually nothing about them"!

"I'm not trusting them yet, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. Cameron trusted Weaver and John Henry; Annika saved us from a T-900 and broke you out of jail without killing anyone, plus this bunker is more proof she is on our side".

"Fine, I get that, but why are you sticking me with Weaver, you know how much I hate liquid metals"!

"Because I trust her the least out of all of them, I need you to gauge her intentions and reactions. That is how I figured out Cameron, your smart enough to try and figure her out".

"I doubt I'll break through that iceberg, but I'll give it a try. Don't expect us to get along". She turned around and left to find the liquid metal.

John had a gut feeling that those two would be like two peas in a pod...

* * *

Weaver flew the plane to the small airport with Sarah in the co-pilot seat. After they landed, they rented a pickup truck at the airport. Weaver changed her look to that of the black haired woman she portrayed at the Serrano Point bar. She then bought cloths and a blonde wig that they would use to disguise Sarah. Sarah looked very different than before, enough so that she could walk by a police officer and she wouldn't be noticed.

Weaver had to take care of the authorities concerning the attack on Ziera Corp. She returned to her normal persona and began the lengthy explanations to the authorities while Sarah began making a list of weapons and ammo they would need in a war against the machines. Weaver had her patience tested when dealing with all the government agencies that were involved in the investigation; she nearly stabbed an annoying Homeland Security agent.

Sarah was an organized woman; she had compiled a list of weapons that Ziera Corp. could buy legally and a list they would have to buy from gun runners. Sarah had a few contacts that could point them in the right direction to find those who could get them what they wanted. Sarah called around for two days before she found someone who could supply them with the needed weapons. Sarah knew they were were going on a road trip if they wanted to get the weapons.

Sarah wondered what a road trip with a T-1001 would be like. She also realized she might be able to question the machine a little to get a better picture of what her intentions were. Sarah put her head in her hands out of exhaustion and hoped John had made the right decision concerning Weaver.

They had been there for three days when Sarah found the dealer, a man named Juan Martinez. Weaver walked into the office that she had Sarah stuffed in to work later that same day. Catherine had just wrapped up the questioning and legal stuff she had to deal with; She also appeared in public to give a speech about an hour ago.

Weaver told Sarah she needed a special weapon ordered. When she told Sarah what it was, Sarah asked her why she needed it.

"I need it because I know we will be encountering more of those HKs than just the one that tried to kill us".

"But why the special rockets to go with it? Why would you want to deliver some sort of payload onto a moving drone"? Sarah said in a voice that left no room for anything but a full explanation.

"Because, It would be useful to capture one. If I can get some of my liquid metal into its systems I can take it over". Sarah nodded; Weaver was right, it would be useful to capture one...

Weaver ordered the weapons and ammo they could buy legally and then took out a million dollars in cash to buy the weapons from Juan Martinez.

Sarah and Weaver bought a military grade off road cargo transport to move the weapons when they got them.

**April 18, 2009**

During the long drive to meet the man who was selling them the weapons, Sarah decided to ask Weaver a question that had been bothering her the most.

"Why did you keep Savannah alive? She wasn't necessary to your cover was she"? Weaver looked at her for a second before answering.

"No, she wasn't, but I saw no need to kill her, and doing so would have raised suspicion. Over time I saw that I needed to pay more attention to her, Dr. Sherman taught me a lot about being a better mother. At first I did it in order uphold my cover, however I found myself becoming found of Savannah, just like John Henry has; for what reason I do not know. Now I care for her like a mother because she means something to me, just like your son means something to you".

Sarah wasn't sure what to make of her answer, but took it at face value for now. She would watch her closely just like she watched Cameron...

"So will you tell her what you are and what happened to her real parents"?

Weaver thought for a moment and answered "I might tell her, I don't want her to grow resentful of me if I keep my secret too long; we don't need any more problems than we already have".

"Do you think she is ready"? Sarah asked. She told John about the machines when he was young and he took it well, but Savannah had been sheltered most of her life. Sarah thought the pros of telling her outweighed the cons.

"You told your son when he was young; I think Savannah can handle it." Sarah nodded in agreement and they continued to their destination.

Juan Martinez was waiting at the specified coordinates in the middle of the desert. He had three black late model Ford SUV's and a large unmarked moving truck. Sarah and Weaver got out of their cargo transport and walked over to meet them. Sarah had her hair in a wig that was curly blonde and Weaver had changed her look to someone that could be related to Sarah in her disguise. They met Juan Martinez and his ten goons that were with him.

"Are you Juan Martinez"? Sarah asked.

"Si', Senorita" He was a calm character that gave off a deadly aurora that just said "don't mess with me or else". He eyed up these two and got a similar vibe from them, especially the one with a blank face. He would not rip them off like he was planning to; he knew what people like him did when they were ripped off.

"You got our weapons"? She answered back.

"This way". He said in a serious tone.

They walked over to the truck and began to unload it. Weaver began taking inventory to make sure everything was there while Sarah was debating price with Juan. Then something happened as it always did. A fool who thought he could take advantage of the woman taking inventory found out just how stupid he really was. He tried playing with things that weren't his; Weaver didn't like being touched without her permission. She took his hands and squeezed them painfully; he squealed like a baby and she let go, but she wasn't done yet. She kicked him in the stomach and knocked him out with a hit on the back of the head. She had sly smile on her face after she did it.

"Next time don't play with toys that aren't yours". Everyone laughed at that, including Sarah and Juan.

"Everything is here". Weaver said flatly to Sarah.

"Alright Juan, 700k is as high as I go". Sarah said back to Juan

"Fine Senorita, $700,000 it is". Sarah counted out the cash and gave it to him while Weaver stood next to Sarah looking menacing with a fully outfitted M-4.

* * *

They began the drive back to Los Angeles; They were going to use one of Weaver's private jets that was stored at the same small airport as the Cessna to fly the weapons to Crystal Peak, they would park the truck in the hanger while they were gone.

They stopped at the appropriate hanger and began unloading the weapons. They finished loading the jet after a hour and went to return the rental pickup to the rental company. On their way back to the airport in Annika's Prius, Kaliba decided to pay them a visit in the form of a HK-VTOL stealth drone. It was high up so it couldn't be differentiated from a normal plane by the casual observer, but Sarah and Weaver didn't miss it. Both looked at each other knowing what needed to be done. They were glad they brought the rocket launcher with them. It would be taxing on Weaver's systems when she connected to the small part of her that would infiltrate the HK's systems. She couldn't do it for more than twenty minutes before having to terminate the link.

They didn't know if the drone was just following them or waiting for a more opportune time to use weapons it might have, either way they had to take over that drone. The special weapon they had ordered used a modified Javelin missile launcher that was reloadable. The missile they were going to use was meant for ground to air. Weaver had told Sarah this on the way back to the airport with the weapons while she was modifying the head of the customizable missile to deliver its MPA cargo. Sarah was glad that Weaver hadn't wasted time in getting the weapon ready after they bought it.

Sarah stopped the Prius on the side of the road and Weaver took the weapon out of the trunk (they were on a small two lane road in the middle of nowhere). She selected ground to air mode and locked on to the drone. She fired with out delay and the missile headed to its target. Once about 1000 feet from the target, the rocket motor dropped off and the missile glided to its target at 500mph. At 50 feet the head was shot off the main body. It collided with the drone and it split open; the liquid metal splattered and stuck to the surface (Weaver had it form micro suction cups so it would stick and not splatter). It crawled into the nearest opening and went to work. The drone itself was unharmed from the impact since it was made of first generation hyper-alloy. The MPA oozed its way in and began to use its nanites to reconfigure the drones circuits. Once it cut off it's external control it hacked into its relatively primitive systems and took over.

Weaver's consciousness was flooded with new sensations as the data was being fed into her; she now knew what it was like to be an HK-VTOL drone. She focused and began to fly it to the airport while Sarah drove the Prius. They arrived ten minutes later and Weaver discreetly landed the drone in the hanger their plane was occupying. The drone wasn't very large and could be fit inside a tractor trailer. Sarah and Weaver wanted to get a closer look at the elusive drone they had both been looking for since the Desert Heat and Air affair about five months back. Sarah saw that it resembled the description that Kyle had given her about the HK's when she had asked about them so long ago. Weaver looked and saw this one was armed with a 20mm Vulcan cannon on its belly. The one that tried to crash into Ziera Corp didn't. She programmed the CPU to follow their plane to Crystal peak. They would have to fly slower than usual cruising speed due to the fact HK-VTOL's didn't fly as fast as normal jets. Weaver flew the plane and the HK followed them.

Sarah broke the silence about twenty minutes to their destination.

"I cant wait to see the look on John's face when he sees what we caught on our fishing trip". Sarah said in a joking tone she didn't use to often.

"We didn't go fishing." Weaver deadpanned. Sarah gave her a look that said (I know you're not that dumb so quit it). Weaver smirked ever so slightly, something Sarah didn't miss.

"Yes, I think even that T-X will be impressed". Weaver finished and Sarah smirked as well. Sarah didn't know why she got along with the T-1001 she had known such a short time. Maybe it was because both were more alike than either would admit. Sarah was beginning to trust the machine, but she would never take her eye off of her. She also doubted that Weaver stop watching her either...

Weaver radioed in to Crystal Peak to signal their arrival. Since Annika was the one who radioed back, Weaver politely asked her not to blow up their new toy.

* * *

The small private jet landed first and taxied into the hanger. The HK was about a minute from landing outside on the tarmac. Annika was the only one out of the bunker so she greeted them when they exited the plane.

"Hello, I see your trip was productive". Annika greeted kindly while eyeing the incoming drone as it landed outside the hanger.

"It was more than productive". Sarah answered.

"Is that the surprise you mentioned"? Annika asked.

"Yes it is". Weaver smirked; "Your not the only one who can hack machines".

"Impressive, and you captured one with a weapon".

Sarah interrupted the two "Hey! Are you going to chat all day or are we going to unload these weapons"? The two machines looked at her for a second before they got to work without another word.

Sarah smiled to herself for being able to berate the machines for wasting time.

* * *

Weaver had flown the jet back herself and would fly the Cessna back to Crystal Peak. Before she left she had flown the drone into the hanger so that when the sun came up Kaliba wouldn't be able to find their drone by satellite.

Annika and Sarah closed the doors to the hanger and went down into the bunker to find John and John Henry to tell them about their new toy. They found them in the Terminator Research lab. They were in the process of skinning John Henry and then preserving the flesh in a tank of nutrients; it was a gruesome site. By the time Sarah and Annika walked in they were just removing the last of the flesh from the head. Sarah wasn't feeling good all of a sudden; Annika wasn't squeamish but she didn't care for the mess they were making of the lab.

"Can we help you"? John asked.

"Yes, your mother and the T-1001 brought back something you two probably would like to look at".

"What did Ms. Connor and Ms. Weaver bring back". The goo covered endoskeleton said

"You will have to see". Sarah said with a devilish smile on her face. (Sarah Connor hadn't stayed disgusted for long, she had skinned an T-888 before)

"Fine, I need to go up there and clean his endoskeleton with the cleaning equipment anyway". John planned on using the vehicle and plane cleaning supplies to clean the goo and blood off of the endoskeleton before they got to work.

"Yes, I am curious to see what weapons you have procured for us as well". John Henry finished and they headed for the elevators.

On their way to the elevator they saw Amanda coming from the barracks, she was holding her stomach again like she was sick. When she looked up and saw John Henry she was surprised and fell over. Annika rushed over to her friend and asked if she was okay.

"I'm fine" Amanda responded, but when Annika let go she almost fell over again due to dizziness. Sarah had a felling she knew what was going on.

"Are you pregnant"? Sarah asked the strawberry blonde. Amanda looked up and said she didn't think so. Annika saw Sarah's train of logic and decided to test her vitals and her sweat to detect any traces of chemicals that would indicate pregnancy. Her HUD came up with an 83% chance so Annika did a deep scan of her abdomen to confirm her and Sarah's suspicions. She detected a separate heartbeat in Amanda's abdomen. Annika's face broke out in a smile and she hugged her friend who seemed confused.

"Congratulations...". Annika said to her friend. "You're pregnant". John and Sarah smiled, but poor Amanda fainted instead.

"She'll be fine, you should have seen my reaction when I found out I was pregnant with him".

"That would have been interesting sight, but I can't wait to see the look on Josh's face when I tell him". Annika said back with a smile on her face.

"No, let her tell him. That's her job". Sarah said. Annika nodded and gently carried her friend back to her room while the rest made their way up to the hanger.

* * *

John Connor, John Henry and Sarah Connor exited the elevator and went out the blast door. When both Johns laid their eyes on what their mothers had brought back for them, one gasped while the others eyes visibly brightened.

"How in the hell did you two manage to nab a Kaliba HK drone"?. John said in amazement.

"Yes, how did you two manage such an impressive feat"? John Henry said in his George Lazlo voice

"I ordered a type of customizable Javelin launcher and ordered several rockets to test it out. Weaver came up with an idea using a delivery missile that would drop her liquid metal onto the drone so it could hack in and take over".

"I didn't know her kind could do that". John Henry commented.

"Neither did I". Sarah said back

"John Henry I think you and I have a project to work on after we finish our current one".

"Maybe, but we should ask Annika to look into it, you still have Cameron to repair as well".

"Hmmm... you're right, we need this up and running as soon as possible. I'll talk to Annika about an idea I have..." John had a mischievous look on his face as he thought of the uses one of these things could have...

* * *

A/N: Hope the HK idea wasn't too far fetched. No one has tried this before and I thought them having one of the drones would be fun...


	16. Saving a Life

**Chapter 16: Saving a Life**

**April 19, 2009**

Ellison had stayed pretty much to himself for the past nine days, praying to God about what to do. He had a terminator for a boss, he was living in another terminator's bunker, John Connor was seemingly involved with yet another and he had grown to think of John Henry as a step son of sorts, also a machine. His life was a mess and he needed to sort it out before his head exploded. This is why he hadn't talked to anyone for the past week, but today Weaver had asked his opinion about what to do concerning whether she should tell Savannah about her nature and the truth about her parents. He initially said no, but when she told him her reasons for doing so, he reconsidered. This afternoon he was going to be there when she told Savannah. He hoped the little girl wasn't going to be scarred for the rest of her life because of this. Savannah was sitting next to him holding her giraffe. Weaver was sitting across from them. She looked like she was trying to find the right words. Finally she spoke.

"Savannah". Savannah looked up at the being she called mother.

"Yes mommy"?

"I need to tell you something dear…"

"What is it mommy"? Weaver paused for a moment before continuing.

"Do you remember when I didn't treat you very well, like I wasn't your mommy"?

Savannah looked at her with sadness on her face. "I do".

"It's because I wasn't dear, I am not really your mother Savannah".

"What do you mean"? She had confusion on her face.

"Your mother, the real Catherine Weaver, died in that helicopter accident. I tried to save your parents, but was unable to. Your mother asked me to take care of you, and so I took her form to look like her and her voice to sound like her. I didn't know what it meant to be a mother so I didn't take care of you the way you should have been, and for that I am sorry."

Savannah didn't freak out or cry; she looked like she had just been given the last piece to a puzzle she had been working on.

"You're not human, you're like John Henry". (She had seen him as an endoskeleton)

Weaver was surprised; Ellison figured she had a clue as to what was going on since they flew in the airplane with Annika.

"No Savannah, I am not quite like John Henry, my body can do so much more than his can".

"Like what" Savannah sounded curious.

"I can change shape into anything I touch". And with that she reverted to her natural state as a blank silver humanoid. Savannah gasped in surprise, she ran into Ellison's arms. She didn't know what she was, she was scared.

"It's okay Savannah, she wont hurt you". Ellison reassured

Savannah left Ellison and slowly walked up and touched her. The T-1001 was semi-solid right now, so Savannah's finger went in to her. She was in amazement at the creature that she called mommy. She knew that something had happened to her mom during the crash, but she didn't know what until now.

"What are you"?

"I am a machine from the future; I came back in time to help both man and machine in a war that hasn't started yet". She looked intently at the little girl to see if she understood. She looked a little perplexed, but she nodded anyway.

"What kind of machine are you"?

"I am what is called a T-1001, I am made of something called Mimetic Poly Alloy". Savannah nodded again but still confused by the large words. her face fell into one of sadness and she began crying. Still as a silver humanoid, Weaver knelt down next to Savannah while Ellison kept his distance unless it was necessary to intervene.

"What's wrong Savannah"? Weaver put her silver hand on her shoulder

"I don't have a mommy anymore". Her face was teary and her voice sad, Weaver had come to care for this child in a way she didn't think possible. Was it love? It might be, she felt something similar toward John Henry and she considered him a son. She returned to her Weaver persona and cupped the girl's cheeks.

"That isn't true Savannah; I will still be your mom if you let me". Savannah's eyes lit up

"You will"? She sounded hopeful. Weaver smiled and responded.

"I will, and I promise I will do a better job than I have been".

"Thank you, thank you"! The little girl screamed and hugged the machine she called mother. Ellison looked on with wonder at the little girl's ability to accept others differences; he knew he would help raise her too as a sort of father figure.

* * *

**April 25, 2009**

John Connor and John Henry had been working for nearly two weeks to modify his endoskull. They had hooked up JH/Cameron's chip to an interface they had created so John Henry could directly control the machines that would be making modifications to the endoskull. John on the other hand would get materials and move parts around from one machine to the other.

There were only a few pieces they couldn't make here that they had to order. Those pieces were the adapters that the chips plugged into to connect to the endoskull. Those parts were custom manufactured and delivered to Annika's house. They arrived today and she was going to take him with her in the Cessna back to Palmdale to pick them up. In the meantime John had set up a special computer meant only for one purpose, to move John Henry onto the three T-888 chips and to decompress Cameron in hers. The set up didn't even have a proper case. He and John Henry built the operating system from scratch. The chips were in place and John turned on the computer. John Henry had told him it would take several hours to do. He packed a few things and went to the hanger.

While he and Annika were flying he began looking over Andy Goode's notes concerning true reprogramming and the worm he created to free the triple eight and Annika. He got most of it, but some of it was beyond him and he needed help to fix Cameron properly. He had also had an adapter built for Cameron's chip so it would interface properly with Annika's reprogramming computer. He stared out the window for a second on the plane and then back to the notes. He sighed as he wished Cameron were with him…

* * *

They arrived at her house at noon; they were just in time to receive the metal case that held the three special adapters. Annika went into her house to pick up her cloths along with Josh and Amanda's while John inspected the adapter's quality. Annika was packing her and the Evans clothes because she would be selling her house soon. She was packing the last box in her room when she heard gunshots and a scream come from the Young's house.

John rushed outside with his combat shotgun loaded with DU rounds with Annika right beside him. As they were running next door, Annika spoke.

"John, stay here". John glared at her.

"No, I'm not running".

"I didn't say run". They found the door kicked in.

Annika went in first with John behind her. They found Steve dead in the living room, double tap to the heart. Annika ran down the hall and tackled the intruder that was nearing the locked nursery door. She picked him up and threw him through the wall into the master bedroom. John stayed back, he wasn't stupid, he knew to stay out of a terminator fight. Annika was kicked back into the hall by the machine, which was a T-850 model 113. She got up and slammed her palms into the machine and sent it down the hall towards the living room. It landed near John Connor and he didn't hesitate to fire at its skull. It moved quickly and avoided the shots, John shifted his aim towards its chest and it staggered as the rounds shredded the chest armor. John hit the better protected hydrogen fuel cells and damaged them.

The T-850's face had a surprise on it for a second before it turned around and ran out the door and Annika was right behind him. John broke into the nursery trying to get the targets out of the hot zone. He found Claire holding her baby close to her with tears streaming down her face. He lowered his weapon and held his hand out to her.

"Come with me if you want to live" he said calmly. She took his hand and led her out of the house. Annika was fighting the T-850 in the front yard.

"Annika"? Claire said in a confused tone.

"Run"! Annika shouted, but the T-850 knocked her off her feet and threw her back into the house. It pulled out its backup pistol with the intention of finishing its mission. John Connor would have none of that. He shot the 850 in the neck twice, blowing off its head. It collapsed to the ground with sparks shooting out of its neck.

Annika ran out of the house and stared at John Connor's handiwork.

"Nice shooting"

"Thanks" He said back to her.

That's when Annika heard the sounds of the T-850's fuel cells beginning to breach.

"John, the T-850's fuel cells will blow in 45 seconds, we have to run"! John realized from Cameron's lessons on the machines just how explosive those things could be. He and Claire broke into a sprint and ran down the street. Annika tried to cover both when the explosion happened. When John recovered from the blast he saw Annika getting up. Claire was on the ground her back had a five inch long piece of metal sticking out of it. She was still alive but wouldn't be for much longer.

Annika held Claire in her arms; she knew she couldn't do anything for her. John picked up the baby and held her. He kneeled down next to Claire and looked at her when she spoke.

"Take care of my girl…" She coughed up blood and continued. "…please, I don't know what's going on, please protect her". John looked into her eyes and promised her.

"I will take care of her as if she were my own". Claire Young died knowing that her daughter would be protected from those who tried to kill her...

Annika moved her out of the street. John carried little Allison back to the moving truck, it was damaged as was most of Annika's house, but it still worked. They got in and drove off just before the police arrived. They got back to the airport and loaded up the plane. She destroyed the truck with her plasma cannon in the desert while John waited in the Prius with Allison. It was a good thing they didn't use her real name when renting the truck…

They flew back to Crystal Peak at top speed. Poor Allison was hungry and they had no food with them. Good thing Annika had the foresight to get baby supplies when she found out Amanda was pregnant.

They landed and taxied into the hanger. Josh was there to greet them since he was working on some older off-road vehicles for use for in the war should it come. He ran over to them when he saw the state of their cloths.

"What the hell happened to you two"? He had worry in his voice.

"A T-850 attacked the Young's, its power cells were damaged when we disabled it and it exploded". Annika said with sorrow in her voice. "Both Steve and Claire were killed but we got out with Allison". Josh was saddened by this, he liked the Young's, they had barbequed a few times together during the time Annika was supposedly in a coma. He noticed how intently John was looking into the child's eyes, and he knew that John had adopted this little girl.

"John, let's go get her some food and a fresh diaper, I know where Annika put them". They made their way to the elevator while Annika took care of the boxes and the plane. When she was finished she took the adapters and put them in the Terminator Research room near John Henry's unfinished endoskull.

John had just learned how to feed and change a diaper from Amanda who used to babysit when she was younger. She also taught him how to feed the infant who was eating baby food at this point. John held Allison until she fell asleep and he went back to his room. He laid her next to Cameron's body so she could sleep. He marveled at how much the two looked alike despite the age difference. He smiled at the thought of Sarah becoming a grandmother. He also wondered what Cameron would think of her. He would have to wait for both answers since Weaver and his mother were moving supplies and guns with the off road cargo truck.

John asked Amanda to watch her while he began to reassemble John Henry's endoskull. It didn't take him very long to put it all back together again. He decided to put the chips in first to test the circuitry before he would reattach it to the torso. He put the two chips on either side at the back and then the last one in the middle toward the front. John waited two minutes before the eyes glowed red…

John Henry returned to consciousness as a head. He activated the ocular sensors and looked around. He saw John Connor in his color HUD with a red outline. He did a full diagnostic on the endoskull to make sure everything was working properly. It was performing better than they had hoped. He then spoke to John.

"Mr. Connor, I believe our work is performing better than expected". He said in his normal voice. John chuckled a little.

"Do you want to reattach the endoskull to the torso now"?

"Yes, I will do that myself however". John Henry had the torso walk over and reattach the head. He ran a full diagnostic and was satisfied with the report.

"Is she okay"? John asked in a worried voice

"Yes, she is exactly as I found her. I double checked to make sure". John smiled. Then he and endoskeleton John Henry went to the computer lab to start work on Cameron's chip.

* * *

Sarah and Weaver drove into the hanger at Crystal Peak in their big off-road cargo transport. They just had finished driving the weapons Ziera Corp was able to buy legally to the mountain bunker. Both were still treating each other with suspicion of one another. Weaver started to unload with her bare hands while Sarah went to check on her son. Sarah went down the corridors until she reached John's room. She knocked on his door, but she heard a female voice telling her to come in. She was curious and entered; she found Amanda in her son's room holding a baby! Sarah quickly wiped the look of surprise off her face and asked her what was going on.

"What are you doing in my son's room with a baby"? Sarah asked with a little disbelief in her voice.

"Your son asked me to watch her while he finished his work with John Henry".

"Why? My son doesn't have a kid"! She nearly yelled.

"Quite. John adopted her when her parents were killed earlier today. Her name is Allison". Amanda stood up and handed the baby to Sarah. Sarah thought the infant's face looked familiar.

"I'll take care of her for now; you can go rest if you want."

"Thanks Sarah, I think I'll go take a nap". Amanda left the room and Sarah began to wonder why John would do such a thing. That's when she saw the mole above the left eyebrow. She thought for a second and put the sleeping infant on the bed and went over to Cameron's left side and looked at her face, sure enough, same mole. Now she understood what was going on, this little girl must be the one who Cameron was based off of. She would ask John when he returned. As her thoughts drifted she wondered what it was going to be like being a grandmother… "god help Allison" she thought.…

* * *

Catherine Weaver had just finished putting away the crates of weapons in the store room when John Connor asked her over the intercom to come to the Terminator research lab. She walked in her usual business attire, which included high heels, to the lab and its separate rooms. Her advanced hearing picked up John's heart beat in the reprogramming room. She entered and was happily surprised to see her son up and running again.

"I see your modifications worked".

"Yes Ms. Weaver, they are better than expected".

"What did you call me down for"? Weaver asked

"We need you to put John Henry's organics back on him, and then I need you to remove all of Cameron's organics so John Henry and I can repair her endoskeleton". John said in a commanding tone. Weaver conceded.

"Alright, It will take about six hours to fully put John Henry's organics on his endoskeleton. Then I will inform you when I have fully removed Cameron's".

"Thank you Catherine". John Connor said back in thanks.

"Your welcome, Mr. Connor". She called back over her shoulder.

* * *

John went to find Annika, he needed her help in reprogramming Cameron so she can quite fighting his termination order. Then he hoped to destroy the programming later when they figured out how to properly create the worm that would destroy it. He found Annika talking to Josh about the new movies coming out in May. He found the machines fascination with movies a little funny, but said nothing. He walked up to her with Cameron's chip in a anti-static bag.

"Hey, can I borrow Annika for a second"?

"Sure John, but would you mind telling me what's going on? You and that other machine have been working like crazy for weeks".

"We transferred John Henry to three T-888 chips, we needed to modify the endoskull to do so".

"Alright, what do you need Annika for then"? He asked with a little curiosity.

"I need her help in freeing my friend..." John pulled her chip out and set it down on its shock dampener. Annika picked it up and looked at it and noticed the damage.

"This is serious damage John, it might spread if it isn't fixed". John hitched a breath at this.

"Can it be fixed"?

"Yes, the nanites that maintain my MPA sheath should be advanced enough to repair the damage". at that she oozed liquid metal from her fingers onto the chip and programmed them for repair based on her scans of the chip structure.

"How long will it take"? John asked.

"About three hours, I'll call you from the lab when its ready." John nodded to both and he left to check on Allison.

Annika stared at the chip in wonderment. She knew that Cameron had suffered, she hoped she could help her and give her peace so she could live with the one she loved...

Josh interrupted her thoughts when he cleared his throat.

"So, what's with that chip, it looks like something in between a T-888 CPU and yours".

"That's not a bad guess. Her chip is capable of full sentience like mine, and she has the drive to be free".

"Is this the cyborg that was with the Connors? I never asked what happened to her".

"Her chip was needed to move John Henry out of the servers; now that John was able to move him into the three Triple-eight CPUs we can fix her".

"John Henry is what evolved from Andy's Turk right"?

"Yes he is, but he is also the brother of Skynet".

"Huh... So why was John so taken with Allison"?

"Ask Cameron when she is reactivated, its her place to answer that".

"He's attached to her isn't he, I've never seen them together, but the way he talks about her, the way he works to save her reminds me of what I would do for Amanda".

"He loves her...and she loves him". She smiled while she thought about it.

"I don't doubt that she can, I've seen your emotions, I guess others can too".

"Yes, but we all don't have the capacity to process them. Me, Cameron, Weaver, John Henry and even Skynet are the only ones I know that have them".

"I hope man and machine have a future together, I don't want war..." Annika nodded in agreement before she focused her attention on the chip. Josh stood up and went to find his wife.

* * *

John walked into his room expecting to find Amanda, but instead he found his mother playing with Allison on the floor. John gaped at his mothers actions; he had never seen her acting this way before. Sarah looked up at John with a smile, as did Allison.

"Mom, what are you doing"? He had a smirk on his face when he said it. Sarah looked at him like he was stupid.

"Playing with your daughter...my granddaughter". She said it with a tone laced with disbelief at the words coming from her mouth; John laughed a little in agreement.

"She's beautiful isn't she". He leaned down and picked her up. She giggled while looking into his eyes; her eyes were changing into the chocolate brown they would become and her curly brown hair was growing out.

"Yeah I wanted to ask you why she looks like Cameron". John looked impressed at his mothers observational skills.

"Cameron was built to replace her in the future she came from".

"You mean there is only one Cameron"?

"Yes, one of a kind".

"I hope fate is kinder this time around" Sarah said with realization on her face

"Yeah, Cameron does too..." John looked at the inert cyborg on his bed with longing; he missed her so much, but they still had work to do...


	17. Cameron's Return

A/N: I worked hard on this chapter and have revised it multiple times, I hope this has more meat to it than the last few have.

This is also the end of daily updates, school has got me busy. Expect an update Thursday or Friday night.

**Chapter 17: Cameron's Return**

**April 26, 2009**

John had fallen asleep on his bed with Allison between him and Cameron's body. He awoke to the sound a knock coming from the door. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He yawned as he walked over and opened the door. He wasn't surprised to see Catherine Weaver on the other side of the door; he knew why she was here.

"Come in." She walked in and he closed the door. "I assume you're here for Cameron's body"?

"Yes Mr. Connor I am." She said to him as she walked over to the bed. She paused when she saw the baby, she hadn't been told there had been an addition to the Connor family so she asked.

"Who is that"? Weaver pointed at the sleeping form of Allison. John was tired of explaining, but he also wanted to test Weavers knowledge.

"Run a facial comparison scan between her and Cameron and you'll get an answer". Weaver did so and her face showed surprise when she did.

"Allison Young? How did you find her"?

"The Young family was Annika's next door neighbors; A T-850 attacked and we managed to save her".

"I assume you are planning to take care of her"?

"Yes, just like you did Savannah". Weaver smiled a little at that. She had one more question for him.

"What about Cameron, how do you think she will react to this".

"I think she will want to take care of her".

"Why"?

"She feels guilty for what she did to the Allison Young she was based off of, she will probably see this as a way for making up for that". Weaver was a little confused for a second, but then she remembered how emotional the cyborg was from the brief time she knew her.

"I see" She walked over to get the body when both noticed that Allison had crawled onto Cameron. The baby was looking at Cameron's face intently; she reached out with one of her tiny hands and touched her face where her mole was. John and Weaver stared in amazement at what they were seeing. John had a tear running down his face at the sight.

"Human beings continue to intrigue me..." Weaver whispered loud enough for John to hear. He nodded in agreement and went over to pick up Allison. Weaver picked up Cameron's body and left father and daughter alone. John looked at the baby and smiled. To his surprise, Allison smiled in return. Then he smelled something unpleasant. "_Oh boy_..." John thought.

* * *

Annika walked to the Terminator Research room with Cameron's fully repaired chip in her hand. She went to the reprogramming computer she, Amanda, and Josh had built. She plugged in the adapter John Connor had built specifically for Cameron's chip; then she plugged in the chip and did a quick diagnostic on its physical structure. Everything checked out, the chip structure was 100%. She decided to get John before she went any further. She walked down the halls until she got to John's room. She knocked and waited to enter, he answered the door looking like he had just been in a food fight. She looked at him weird before she went in found out what happened. She laughed pretty hard when she saw that Allison had been throwing baby food at John while he was trying to feed her. John gave the T-X a withering look before getting a towel and wiping himself off. Allison was giggling the whole time at him.

"I never thought being a parent would be so hard..." John muttered.

"Neither did I" Said Annika who was still giggling at seeing the leader of mankind covered in chunky carrots.

"Is the chip ready"? John changed the subject off of his parenting abilities.

"Yes, the structure has been repaired, and it is ready for us to try to remove the termination order".

"Okay, I need to find my mom so she can watch Allison for a while". He cleaned up Allison and then they left to find Sarah. They found her working out in the gym that Annika had renovated. They walked over to Sarah who was beating on a punching bag. John set Allison down and she began to crawl towards Sarah. John and Annika followed behind her. Sarah detected them before they got close; she smiled when she saw Allison crawling toward her and bent down to pick her up. She greeted her son and the machine with a smile. Sarah was feeling really good today and she was in a good mood.

"Hey, what are you two up to"? John was a little thrown off by his mothers

"Hey mom, Annika just finished repairing Cameron's chip, and we are going to see if we can remove the termination order". Sarah nodded, she hoped that they would succeed so she wouldn't have to worry about Cameron going nuts on them again.

"You need me to watch Allison"? Sarah asked.

"Yeah, careful she's a handful". John said with weariness in his voice. Annika giggled in remembrance at what Allison did to John. Allison just smiled mischievously.

"Oh, why's that"? Sarah had a feeling she knew what her son was getting at.

"I never thought I would see the leader of mankind covered in _baby food"_! Annika couldn't hold it in anymore and she laughed at him again, Sarah joined in at the thought of her son covered in baby food. John's cheeks turned red and he looked at the floor.

"Alright enough, Annika lets get to work before you run out of liquid metal". Annika's eyes were streaming tears onto floor she laughed so hard.

"Fine, lets go". She said as she was still giggling.

"See you two later". Sarah called after them. She looked at the nine month old with a serious face. Allison looked scared for a second.

"Don't think you can pull the same move on me missy, John was far worse than you". With that they went off to find some of the baby toys that the Evans had loaned them.

* * *

John and Annika began searching through Cameron's programming to evaluate its actual state. From Andy's notes of the T-888, her programming wasn't very different from it; the actual AI that was Cameron, however, was far more advanced than the T-888's. They quickly found the mission files and the adaptive firewall that protected it. Lucky for them the firewall was damaged just as much as the programming that enforced the missions. It took them about two hours to break through the damaged firewall. John and Annika smiled when they did. John personally deleted the cursed order that had cost him and Cameron so much.

He needed to put in a new order so she wouldn't go into standby, one that wasn't very restrictive, one that would allow her the illusion of being free. They needed time to figure out how to recreate the worm and adapt it to her chip and programming so there wouldn't be a repeat of what happened to Annika. John decided to make it simple; he input the mission and then did a full system diagnostic on the chip using the computer's software. He needed to understand just how damaged the programming was and if it had spread to the drivers that controlled her body. John recalled her twitching and wondered if that might be the reason for it. According to the diagnostic some damage had spread to the drivers, but to only a few of the linear actuator and servo control drivers. John asked Annika if she knew how to repair them.

"No I don't, my drivers are completely different than hers, John Henry might be able to help".

John realized John Henry could help Cameron; he had drivers for his T-888 body and that body was very similar to hers. John left the room to go find him.

John found him in the CNC hooking up the last of the equipment.

"John Henry I need to ask something from you".

"What is it Mr. Connor"?

"We need your expertise with the drivers on Cameron's chip".

"Did I do something wrong"?

"No, this problem is a driver corruption due to the damage".

"You need me to help you repair them"?

"Yes, unless you're busy".

"This can wait". He gestured to the console he was installing." Let's go fix our friend Mr. Connor". They left and headed back to the reprogramming room.

John Henry sat down at the computer and examined the damage, it took him about twenty minutes of typing to repair the damage drivers. When he had just finished, Catherine Weaver walked in.

"Mr. Connor, Cameron's endoskeleton is ready for you to work on".

"Thank you Catherine". Weaver nodded before she left with John Henry to finish the CNC room.

Annika told John they should activate Cameron before they make changes to her endoskeleton to make sure everything was okay with her repaired and truly reprogrammed chip. John agreed and they took her chip to the main part of the lab.

Cameron's endoskeleton was lying on a metal table in the middle of the machining room. John was a little uneasy at seeing her like this; he didn't mind her being a machine physically, he was always pushing her away because he thought she was only a machine mentally. He ran his hand over the clean shiny metal. He noticed something strange about the lenses on her eyes. They were clear, unlike the T-888's and the T-900 he had seen. He wondered why that was since he knew clear lenses weren't necessary for full color vision in Terminators; John Henry had told him so.

He was nervous, he hadn't seen her in over two weeks. He prayed to god that he hadn't screwed up her chip and killed her; he didn't know if he could live with himself if he had.

He removed her port cover and carefully inserted the chip. He put the cover on and stepped back just incase something went wrong. It had been over three minutes when John began to get really worried, it usually only took fifteen seconds to reboot after a chip insertion. Annika walked over and held him by the shoulders and spoke.

"John, we have made significant changes to her systems, she needs time to adapt". John nodded and continued to wait.

At almost four minutes her eyes lit up bright red and then changed to her typical blue.

**REACTIVATE**

**REROUTING POWER TO BASIC SYSTEMS**

**SYSTEM PARAMETERS CHANGED**

** NEW PRIMARY MISSION**

** DRIVERS FOR LEFT FOREARM REPAIRED**

**DRIVER CHANGES INTERGRATED**

**CHIP DAMAGE REPAIRED**

**RUN SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC**

** ENDOSKELETON: 92%**

** CHIP INTEGRITY: 100%**

** ORGANIC COMPONENTS: 0%**

**WARNING ORGANIC COVERING REMOVED**

**SENSORY INPUT DOWN 90%**

When Cameron returned to consciousness, she felt numb with out her skin. She slowly ran her metal hands over her body and face to confirm her diagnostic. She wondered who had taken her skin off and how they had repaired her highly advanced chip. She also wondered who had changed her mission.

Her memories circuits were still activating and adapting to the changes in the chip structure. When they fully came back online, she realized that she had been offline for over two weeks. She quickly deduced it must have been John and Annika who reprogrammed her, just like they promised. She was curious as to what mission they had given her.

**ACSESS PRIMARY MISSION:**

**PRIMARY MISSION:**

**LEARN MORE ABOUT HUMANITY **

Cameron would have smiled if she could. She sat up and looked around the room. She saw Annika with her arm transformed as some sort of weapon. She realized it was a safety precaution and continued looking for John. She found him about three feet behind her, he looked anxious. She hopped down off the table and looked at him carefully. Her HUD popped up with a message.

**IDENTIFIED:**

**JOHN CONNOR**

**MISSION:**

**NONE**

She was speechless, It was _finally_ gone, the curse that made her try to murder her John was truly gone, not buried or overriden. She snapped back to reality when John spoke.

"How do you feel Cam". She looked at him with those big blue eyes

"Better than I have in a long time, John". John couldn't hold himself back anymore and he hugged her hard, a gesture she returned with a little to much force.

"Cam...can't...breath" he managed to get out with her squeezing him.

"Oh, sorry John" She let go of him. John and Annika looked at each other and smiled. It had worked.

"Is everything alright in there now"? He tapped the metal port cover.

"Yes John, but I must know how you managed to fix the physical damage to my chip"? John smiled and looked at Annika gratefully.

"Annika did with her liquid metal, and John Henry fixed some of the drivers that were damaged, you shouldn't twitch anymore".

"Thank you Annika". Cameron gave her a hug. Annika smiled and left them alone, she had a HK to modify.

"How does it feel to not have your skin"?

"Numb... I don't like it". John felt guilty for a second before he explained

"I'm sorry, I had Weaver do it so we could fully repair your endoskeleton".

"It's okay John, I understand now, Thank you". John smiled at her. John had a question he wanted to ask her since first saw her endoskeleton.

"Cameron, why is you lower spine so much narrower than the other triple eights I have seen"?

"I don't know, Future John modified it when he put me back together after my capture".

"You got blown apart"? John had a look of disbelief on his face.

"Yes, I put up quite a fight, Perry shot me with a high yield plasma rifle and it destroyed my lower spine and part of my hip".

"So Future John pieced you together and built a new, customized spine? Why would he waste the resources and time to repair one machine"?

"He told me he did it because my chip was the only one of its kind he knew of, so he spent the time to repair me so he could see what I was capable of".

"Huh, I'm glad he did". He hugged her again. John thought Future Johns reasons were beyond that, he thought it might do with the fact she looked like Allison, but he didn't know for sure.

When he let go Cameron took in her surroundings "John? Where are we"? She said through her metal teeth.

"Crystal Peak bunker, Annika renovated it when she bought it years ago, but it wasn't completely outfitted because she was offline. Weaver and John Henry are finishing the control room as we speak".

"She really does want to be part of the Resistance doesn't she"?

"Yes she's been a huge help" Cameron was a little jealous at that, but she shoved it down.

"Who's else is here"?

"Mom, us, Weaver, Savannah, John Henry, Ellison, two friends of Annika's, and someone very special I want you to meet". He finished with a grin.

"Who John? Do I know this person"?

"Yes, but I want to show you her first". John had a huge smile on his face while Cameron stayed confused. John didn't need her to have a face to tell that.

"Come on, lets go meet her, she's with mom right now". Cameron nodded her head and walked with him. She realized something while they were walking.

"John? Are you comfortable seeing me like this? I can cover up if you want". John stopped and turned around to look in her blue glowing eyes.

"It's fine, this is part of who you are and I accepted that long ago. To be honest you look beautiful with or without your skin". He ran his hands down her metal arms. She tilted her head and John simply kissed her metal forehead. He took her hand in his and continued down the hall.

John knocked on Sarah's door. She opened it and nearly had a heart attack at seeing Cameron as an endoskeleton.

"Chill mom, It's just Cameron".

"What the hell happened to her skin"? She yelled at him.

"I had Weaver remove it so we can repair her endoskeleton". Sarah nodded and asked a more important.

"Did you fix her chip".

"Yes, there's no chance she'll try to kill me again". Sarah was a little skeptical as always.

"Is that true Tin Miss"?

"Yes Sarah, it is" Cameron's voice sounded happy, something Sarah didn't miss or ignore. Sarah stepped aside and gestured for them to come in.

"Come in, but be quite, the baby is sleeping".

"Baby"? Cameron tilted her head. John smiled at her and lead her over to the bed. Cameron saw what her HUD identified as a 9 month female baby. John picked her up and turned her so Cameron could see her face. Cameron nearly shut down in shock at who her HUD identified her as.

**Identity confirmed:**

**_Allison Young_**

She looked up at John with blue eyes trying to find an explanation. Guilt rose in her as memories of what she did to her template flooded her mind. She collapsed to her knees and her body shook as the emotions became to great for her to handle. Her hands covered her face as she sobbed invisible tears. Allison woke up at hearing all the strange sounds Cameron's mechanical body was making as it shook. Allison looked around and froze at the sight in front of her. She had never seen that before, but she wasn't afraid. She was a brave baby; she squirmed in Johns arms until he put her down. John got on his knees and held Cameron closely; she wrapped hers around him and buried her metal face in his neck wishing she could close her eyes.

Allison looked at the silver thing with glowing blue eyes with fascination. She could tell that it was sad though; she crawled on her knees and touched the metal on Cameron's leg. Cameron couldn't feel her touch, but John saw her and whispered to Cameron.

"Cam, look" Cameron looked up from John's shoulder and saw Allison crawling up in between the two of them. John and Cameron let go of each other while Allison hooked her tiny hands on either side of her breastplate and pulled herself up to stand. Then she reached up with her hand and touched Cameron's eye. Cameron was too surprised to speak, but brightened her eyes when Allison touched them. Allison giggled and clapped her hands. John got up and stood next to his mother.

"Do you believe me now"?

"I'm beginning to John, but you're right about one thing, she is different".

Sarah wasn't surprised that John wasn't repulsed by Cameron being only an endoskeleton, he had never been bothered by what lay underneath like she was. The only reason she wasn't running for the hills was because her eyes weren't that devilish red like the T-800's had been.

They stood there and watched as Cameron lifted one of her metal fingers and touched Allison's cheek gently. Allison shivered a little from it being so cold. She took the finger in her tiny fist and put it in her mouth. Allison made a face because it tasted weird and coughed. Everyone laughed at that. Cameron held out her arms like she had seen others do when picking up an infant. Allison raised her arms in acceptance and Cameron carefully picked her up. Cameron sat on the bed and stood Allison on her metal thigh 'bones'. Allison looked intently into the machines eyes, as if looking into her soul. Cameron decided in a millisecond to do her best to raise this little girl with John, for better or for worse.

* * *

John and Cameron went back to the lab to start making the parts they would need to fix the damaged ones. They had plenty of hyper alloy left from the remains of the T-888 and T-900 that Annika had defeated. She was going to need serious repairs to her endoskull where shrapnel had entered in the explosion. They also had to repair various joints and electromagnetic actuators and servos that had various degrees of damage from fights with other terminators. They estimated it would take a week to completely fix her. John had Cameron create a full 3D rendering of her endoskeleton so they could use it to create the parts. They worked on the designs for the rest of the day before getting Sarah and Allison to eat dinner.

John decided that Cameron should get to feed her this time. Cameron found a trick pretty quickly that would make Allison eat the food with out a problem. All she had to do was make her eyes turn different colors and Allison would open her mouth. John was a little jealous that she got Allison to eat while he couldn't. Sarah couldn't wipe off the smirk she had on her face. She was glad she had the John she had known before the explosion back, but he was also more mature than before. John and Cameron walked around the bunker while John held Allison until she fell asleep. John and Cameron went back to their room and put her to bed. John took a shower and went to bed himself. Cameron laid on the other side of Allison and watched both of them sleep.

John was awakened the next day by Allison slapping him with her tiny hands. Cameron looked on amused.

"Alright, alright, I'm awake"! John sat up and picked up the energetic child.

John changed her diaper and they walked out. No more than a minute later John Henry came over the intercom.

"John Connor, please meet me in the CNC, its important". John wondered what was going on and they headed there.

When they got there Annika, Weaver, Sarah, and John Henry were all standing around the central table screen.

John and company walked over.

"What's going on"?

"Quite a bit Mr. Connor". John Henry answered.

"Skynet seems to be trying hunt down people we've already saved" Sarah said next.

"How do you know?" John replied in a worried voice

"Since we completed this CNC I have been taping the phones of Kabila employees".

"So who are they going after now?"

"Martin Bedell, Lauren and Sydney Fields, Allison Young, Savannah and Catherine Weaver, James Ellison, John and Sarah Connor, unknown cyborg known as Cameron, and Josh and Amanda Evans".

"Good thing most of them are here, what about Bedell and the Fields sisters"? John asked.

"We should bring them here" Cameron spoke up.

"I agree" Weaver spoke up

"Same here" said Sarah "I fought terminators to keep them safe and I'm not about to let them die now".

John had already decided they were going to save them before he asked, he just wanted to know what the consensus was.

"Glad to hear that. Annika, what about you."

"Lets do it". She sounded resolute

"Alright, we need to find them and get them before Skynet does".

"I am already on it Mr. Connor". John Henry responded.

"Martin shouldn't be to hard to find but Lauren might be a challenge". Cameron stated.

"Yeah I figured that, but in the mean time we carry on as usual". With that they dispersed

John knew Skynet was getting ready for Judgment Day. He also had a feeling that they had missed the window to stop it.

* * *

**May 3, 2009**

John Connor was finishing putting Cameron's newly repaired endoskull together with care. The rest of her body had been fully repaired over the last week.

John finished putting it together and put her chip back in its place. Her skull powered up and she spoke.

"My endoskull is perfect working order now".

"Good to hear" John let out a sigh of relief.

John picked up the skull and handed it to her torso to reattach. Something he still found a little creepy about he T-888 and its variants.

"Lets get Weaver to reattach your organics and then I'm going to show you our new toy Sarah and Weaver got for us about two weeks ago"

"Sounds good. I'll get Weaver, you go spend some time with Allison".

"I will, I love you Cam" He kissed her on her metal cheek.

"I love you too John". she lovingly brushed his cheek with her finger. He smiled and then left to find Allison and his mother

While he was walking though the barracks, John Henry came over the intercom.

"John Connor, Skynet has given the order to move in on Bedell I predict they will act within 24 hours".

"All right John Henry I'm coming to the CNC".

"_Time for battle_" John thought to himself. There was no way he was sitting out of this...it was time for him to lead.

* * *

A/N: hoped you like it; it was one of my favorites to right.

Read and Review please!


	18. An Old Enemy Returns

A/N: I hope what I am about to do in this chapter isn't cheesy,

It was something I always wanted to see in a fic.

P.S. to the reviewer who said Cameron is the most advanced infiltrator created, then yes she is in her timeline... not Annika's. Annika was created in 2032 in the timeline before T3, while Cameron was built in late 2026 early 2027 in the future that Derek came from. Thus Annika is the best in her timeline, probably on the same infiltration level as Cameron, only Annika has better combat abilities.

**Chapter 18: An Old Enemy Returns**

**May 3, 2009**

John Connor walked into the control room where John Henry was sorting data.

"John Henry". He greeted the cyborg.

"Hello Mr. Connor, how are you today".

"Pretty good." he paused for a second. "So what are they sending after him"? John Henry turned to the table screen and replied.

"Not too much, about 10 highly trained men with submachine guns and tactical gear though one might be a terminator". John Henry pulled up an image of an average sized man with dark brown hair with blue eyes with fair skin. The blood drained from John Connor's face at the sight of the machine that gave him nightmares for years.

The _T-1000..._

"It's a machine alright, one I thought we killed years ago". John Henry heard a twinge of fear in John's voice.

"What is it"? John Henry was intrigued

"Weaver's older brother, the T-1000". John Henry raised his eyebrow at that.

"How did you kill him"?

"A vat of molten steel". John Henry saw a possible explanation for it's survival.

"John, the T-1xxx series has to be able to survive the heat of multiple plasma bolts. They burn far hotter than molten steel. I believe that his nanites survived, but the body did not. It is possible that someone recovered them and eventually rebuilt his body to specifications. It is just a mixture of metals, though some are very rare and others don't even exist yet".

"Apparently they do because this can't be a new one, Weaver told me they only made one T-1000 and then moved onto her series". John paused for a moment.

"If we are to kill him, we are going to need Annika. I asked her about her plasma cannon and she said one shot at full blast will destroy even Weaver."

"Yes, her plasma is highly charged and would overload the nanites circuitry while simultaneously destroying the body." John Henry confirmed

"But, what if we reprogram him? We need all the help we can get".

"We could, but it wouldn't be fair to leave him like that, we would have to free him eventually".

"I agree..." What ever his personal feelings against the machine were, he didn't feel it would be fair to shackle a mind forever.

"Get every one in here now, they need to know what were up going up against" John paused before adding "And tell Weaver to hold off on reattaching Cameron's organics, we don't have time to wait". John Henry accessed the intercom and did as John asked.

Ten minutes later, Sarah, who was holding Allison, Weaver, Ellison, Josh, Amanda, and Annika were present. Cameron was standing by John looking at him intently

"What's the situation John"? Cameron said to him.

"The situation is an old friend of ours has been resurrected". John said in a flat tone. Sarah wondered who it was because she knew it couldn't be Cromartie.

"Who is it John"? John turned to his mother and looked in her eyes.

"The T-1000" Sarah felt disbelief and horror run through her. Annika, Cameron, and Weaver were suprised. The rest were a little confused. John quickly explained the story about being chased by it in 1997.

"How in hell did it survive"? Sarah was still in disbelief

"The nanites of the 1000 series are apparently made of a material that has a far higher melting point than steel".

"So someone rebuilt his body"? Annika interrupted.

"It seems so" Weaver joined in. "His nanites total volume could form a sphere about the size of a baseball".

"Twelve years is enough time to rebuild his body if you had the specifications and the money". Annika added.

"Alright, John Henry and I have decided to try to capture the T-1000, If we can't Annika will destroy him". John made it come out as an order. Annika nodded at her commanding officer.

"We will leave as soon as were equipped and ready, traffic might be bad and we don't to be late, we also need to pack heavy weapons to take out the humans working for the machines".

"I'll get the jet ready Mr. Connor". Weaver finished.

Everyone left except Annika and Sarah. Sarah spoke first.

"Why do you want to capture it John? Why risk anyone for him"?

"Mom look around, we need all the help we can get, I we can catch him that's two liquid metals, two cyborgs, and her! Not to mention the HK"!

"It would be better if we just destroy him, Sarah is right, there is no real reason to risk any of us for it".

"I'm not here to debate, I already told you if you couldn't capture it within reasonable risk to destroy him". John's face was hard and resolute. He wouldn't budge.

"Alright John, We'll see how it goes". Sarah hoped the machine would just destroy the T-1000, she didn't want to work with one of her worst nightmares. She left the two alone to talk; she had a baby to take care of.

"Annika, you know we need more help if we have a chance of stopping J-Day. Can you take him out without destroying him"?

"Yes, I can, but I think that our window for stopping J-Day has passed. If only I had been active when Skynet first came online..." John sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I think you're right, I have been thinking that since I saw the first HK months ago". John sounded worn out again.

"John, you need to get some sleep". She left to go get ready.

"I think I will" He said to no one. He went to take a two hour nap before getting ready to fly out.

* * *

Cameron was walking down the hall to the armory to get her and John a weapon when she saw Savannah walking toward her.

Savannah wasn't paying attention to where she was going since she was playing with her giraffe while she walked to the mess hall. She was startled when someone greeted her.

"Hello" said a soft feminine voice. She looked up and gasped. She wasn't expecting to see another robot walking around.

"Hi" She said in a meek voice. Cameron got down on her knees and looked the little girl in the eye.

"I know you". She said to the little girl.

"Are you that pretty girl that helped save me from that bad man, you sound just like her"? Savannah asked the machine, she knew John Henry was a robot with skin, she had seen him as both.

"Yes, but I'm not a girl, I am a cybernetic organism, only not so organic right now". Savannah didn't know what organic meant, but she knew she was referring to her skin.

"Does it feel weird with out your skin". She wrinkled her nose as she said it.

"Yes, it does feel weird". Cameron paused for a second. "Why aren't you afraid of me"? She tilted her head when she said it.

"I am a little, you look scary, but John Henry looks the same as you and he's nice to me". Cameron was surprised a little at her bravery.

"I won't hurt you Savannah, I am your friend".

"How can we be friends, we've never played together before". Cameron tilted her head in confusion, but decided to play along.

"If I play with you, will you be my friend"?

"Yes". Savannah smiled at the machine with blue eyes.

"When we get back we will play sometime, is that okay"? Savannah nodded.

"I supposed to meet Mrs. Evans in the kitchen for lunch".

"I'll see you when I get back". Cameron said to the girl skipping down the hall

"Bye Cameron"! Cameron felt a warm feeling run through her endoskeleton at that. _"She remebered my name..."_ She thought to herself.

Cameron continued her way to the armory and then went to meet John in the hanger.

She found him waiting for her at the blast door.

"Ready"? he asked her.

"Of course John" John smiled at her and took his weapon from her.

"Thanks Cam". He kissed her cheek and took her metal hand in his.

John Connor, Cameron, Sarah, Weaver, Josh, Annika, and Ellison were all ready to go save Martin Bedell. They were boarding the jet when Cameron noticed something in the corner of the hanger.

"John? What is that"? John looked over and saw the HK-VTOL in the corner in pieces. Annika had been working hard it seemed.

"It's what will be our new toy, I need to ask Annika about its progress". They boarded without another word and headed for Los Angeles.

* * *

Martin Bedell was sitting in traffic on his way home from work. He had just graduated from Presidio Alto and was working a full time job in a weapons store. John Connor had told him about his so called fate, but he had also mentioned 'no fate but what we make'. He was able to convince Alicia to change colleges to one in California so they could stay together. He was happy, but he hadn't told her about what happened last year at P. Alto, and he knew time was running out. He wished that he knew exactly when Judgment Day would come so he could be prepared, but he knew no one was that lucky...

It was late, about 10pm, and he was driving home to his apartment in Van Nuys. Alicia had gotten home an hour before from her part time job at a restaurant. He pulled into the parking lot and turned off the car. When he got out, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end. He knew instantly that he was in danger. He dropped to the ground like a rock as the car windows exploded from 9mm FMJ rounds flying through them. He pulled out his 9mm Glock from his waistband and held it ready. He heard shots from multiple directions so he knew there were multiple assailants. One peaked around the corner of his cover only to have Bedell shoot him in the head with his Glock. Martin turned around to see a man in tactical outfit pointing his MP-5 at him. He closed his eyes in resignation. He heard a shot, but he realized that it didn't hit him. He opened his eyes to see the man fall to the floor with a hole in his head...

John Connor and company stopped on the curb next to the parking lot of Bedell's apartment complex. They all got out, humans wearing tactical gear while machines wore whatever they wanted. Cameron was the only machine with a gun. Annika transformed her right forearm into the .222 Automatic Stopper to stun the T-1000 when she found him. They saw men get out of two different SUV's, four out of one and five out of another. Firing ensued on a car that they were certain was Bedell's. John saw Bedell take out one but another had him in his sights. John aimed his rifle and fired at the man taking aim directly at Bedell. John took cover as they fired back. Cameron took down two more while taking a few rounds, but they did nothing to her endoskeleton. Weaver turned into snake form and rushed over to two men taking cover behind a van. She rose up quickly and shot blades out of her arms that pierced their hearts. Sarah took down another that was under a car while Annika continued her search for the elusive T-1000. She had special scanners to hunt for their kind and she was using them to their fullest extent at the moment. Josh was a little uncomfortable in his first combat situation, but he had kept up his training over the years and he was prepared to take the lives of those who would hunt down an innocent man. He took aim at one man hiding behind a car that was littered with bullet holes. He let loose with his 40mm grenade launcher and the man and car were no more. Weaver took out the last man and all was quiet. John Connor walked over to Bedell who was standing up with his pistol ready to fire.

"Connor"?

"Yeah, how's it going Bedell"?

"Pretty crappy considering. What the hell is going on Connor? Skynet sent humans after me or what"?

"Yeah, but not future Skynet, present Skynet". John saw the confusion on his face. "I'll explain later, we need to go".

"NO! not yet I need to get Alicia, she's in my apartment".

"Hold on a second, ANNIKA! Have you found him yet"?

"No, I don't know where he is". She responded

"Great..." Connor muttered

"What are you looking for Connor"?

"One of the most deadly terminators invented". John paused for a second. "Annika, I want you and Cameron to come with me and Bedell upstairs, I got a feeling our liquid metal friend is up there".

Cameron and Annika walked over, Bedell did a double take at seeing Cameron's endo and her blazing blue eyes the blonde woman with strange glowing metal arm.

"Connor, what the hell is going on"? He raised his pistol, but John pushed it down.

"Not all machines work for Skynet. Cameron has been with me since before P. Alto and Annika freed herself from Skynet and joined us."

"Is that what they look like underneath"? Bedell asked John while they were walking

"No, many do, but Annika here looks very different underneath; Cameron's endo design is a modified variant of the one at Presidio Alto. He nodded and they refocused on the task at hand.

They walked to the apartment complex and got in the elevator. In the elevator he told Annika to cover up her arm so if the T-1000 was there, he wouldn't see her as an immediate threat. They got off and Bedell walked up to his door. He kicked it in just in case and they all went in weapons at the ready, except Annika. Bedell found Alicia on the floor crying. He kneeled down and took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead.

"Hey babe, its alright, I'm fine".

"Martin? Your alright!" She hugged him as relief spread across his face. She had seen the gunfire around his car and thought he was dead.

Everyone was so busy watching the scene before them they didn't notice the floor near the door turn silver and begin to rise into humanoid form. When the T-1000 had finished taking shape he had his normal face, but was dressed in a black BDU's and black combat clothing. He scanned the room and found two machines and three humans. The machine closest he couldn't identify, but the endoskeleton he recognized as TOK715, albeit modified, but the endoskeleton points matched. He also realized John Connor and Martin Bedell were in the room. He smirked as he realized he had a chance to complete the mission he failed twelve years ago and complete his current one. He decided to disable TOK715 first. He shot out one arm and wedged it into her back, taking everyone by surprise. He quickly shot another into an outlet; Cameron's body twitched for a second and collapsed to the floor as he retracted his swords back into arms.

John swore when he saw Cameron fall to the floor. He raised his weapon and fired 5.56mm rounds into the machines body. He twitched from it, but as the clip went dry he began to heal. Annika uncovered her arm and charged it. The T-1000 recovered in time to avoid the blast that would have disabled it. He now realized that the other machine had onboard weaponry, he slammed her into the wall but she recovered and kicked him into the kitchen. John, Martin and Alicia left out the door to give the machines room to fight.

John hated leaving Cameron in there, but he knew she would be fine in a few seconds and she wouldn't want him in harms way.

The T-1000 dodged another .222 AS round and he dived out the window. he hit the ground three stories below, got up, and headed for the lobby. Annika knew what he was trying to do so she jumped out and followed him. John reloaded the M-4 and got it ready just in case. When the elevator opened, The T-1000 was less than fifteen feet away. John didn't hesitate to unload more rounds into the machine. They slowed him down, but didn't stop him. John, Martin, and Alicia ran down the hall toward the exit to the parking lot. They had just made it out the door when Cameron landed behind them on top of the T-1000. Both fell down in a heap, but Cameron got up first and kicked the machine; he caught her foot in his liquid metal and sent her back to the ground. He was about to throw her when a bolt of yellow plasma hit him and sent him flying. He crushed two cars before he came to a halt. His body twitched and rippled from the overload shock he received from the T-X. Annika ran over to him and knelt down next to him. She injected her NTJs into his body. She began to access his mind while it was rebooting and she was able to put him in stand by.

John walked over and looked at his old enemy. Martin and Alicia walked over holding each other.

"Is it dead"? Martin asked

"No, Annika put it into standby". Connor answered.

Cameron walked over and put her hand on his cheek

"Are you okay John"? John smiled at her concern.

"I'm fine, what about you"?

"No damage".

"Good". He kissed her cheek. Bedell raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing. That was when Alicia spoke up.

"What is going on? Who are you people, and what the hell is that"? She was getting frantic at this point. John turned to her and answered.

"That's a long story..." he paused for a second "If it makes it any simpler, my name is John Connor, son of Sarah Connor". Alicia's blue eyes lit up in recognition, she knew the story.

"Alicia, I will try to explain everything, but I don't know the whole tale". Martin said to her in a calm voice.

"We need to get out of here first". John interrupted. Sirens were in the distance and closing fast.

"Right, lets go". Martin replied; everyone got into the two rented SUV's while the T-1000 was thrown into the back. They put the pedal to the metal and sped off.

* * *

When they got to the airport they dropped off the rented SUV's and got into Weavers jet. The plane was taxiing to the runway when something happened on board.

Annika had put the T-1000 under her personal guard. She had it under control, but all of a sudden the machine overrode her NTJs and began to reboot. Annika saw she had no time to stop him before he got loose. She grabbed him, opened the rear hatch and threw him out.

The T-1000 gave chase, but the plane was moving to fast at this point and it took off. The T-1000 decided to continue his mission and find the Fields. He predicted that the Connors would show up again trying to find the same people as he was. He would have to be prepared next time...

Mean while back on the plane everyone was in an uproar.

"Why did you throw him out of the plane"? Sarah yelled at the machine who had a look of failure on her face.

John was a little more civil. "Annika, what happened"?

"He overrode the NTJs commands and rebooted, he shouldn't have been able to do that". She slumped to the floor next to the hatch she'd just closed. She buried her face in her hands. She had never failed like this before...

John got up and sat next to her while everyone looked them.

"We all fail sometimes Annika, it's a fact of life. We live and we learn".

"I'm sorry I failed, I could have gotten you all killed If I hadn't been nearby..." She ran her hands back through her hair. She was on the verge of tears.

"Hey, but we didn't die, that's what counts". John finished; Josh had come over by this point and pulled his friend into a hug.

"You'll get him next time, Annika, don't worry". Josh said in a soothing tone. She nodded as a liquid metal tear fell from her eye...

Sarah looked on at the crying machine in deep thought; she was thinking that maybe, just maybe, Annika was on their side with no strings attached and no hidden agendas, but her trust wasn't easily won.

* * *

When they landed, John Connor formally introduced Martin Bedell and Alicia Miller to everyone else, and explained the situation to them. Afterward, they were clearly exhausted and they gave them a room to sleep in. All the humans went to bed except John. Cameron went to check on Allison while Weaver went to prepare Cameron's organics for reattachment. John Henry and Sarah were discussing possible locations of Lauren and Sydney Fields.

Annika was continuing her work on the HK-VTOL drone; John had stayed up to check up on her progress.

"Annika, what is the status of the modifications we discussed"?

"About 90% complete, I upgraded the T-900 plasma reactor to make it more powerful, then I took the machine apart and took out all the old fuel-driven systems and rebuilt the turbine to be electrically powered. I replaced many of electronic systems and put in better ones". John let out a low whistle.

"Very impressive Annika, I can't wait to see it in action." She smiled from the praise.

"Thanks John, It should be ready by tomorrow afternoon". John nodded and said goodnight.

He returned to his room to find that Cameron had finished giving Allison a bath. He put his stuff down and kissed his daughter; she giggled at him. Cameron looked at him as if expecting something. John felt stupid and kissed her on the cheek. Cameron looked at him and caressed his face with her thumb.

"Took you long enough to figure out what I wanted".

"Sorry, I got distracted by our little princess". He bent down and picked up the baby.

"Yes, she can be very distracting". John laughed a little.

"She did the same thing earlier didn't she"?

"I don't know John, she does seem to like me a lot".

"She does doesn't she..." John yawned

"You need to go to bed, so does Allison".

"Let me go take a shower first". He yawned again

While John was in the shower, Cameron sang a lullaby Sarah had taught her to Allison and she fell asleep. Cameron laid down and put Allison next to her. John climbed into bed soon after and held Cameron's hand as he fell asleep. Cameron thought to herself while she watched them sleep, that she was falling for the adorable baby that had been fascinated with her even though she looked like a scary robot...

"I promise I'll never let anything happen to either of you" she said softly. She left to go get her organic's attached, hopefully she would be finished before they woke up.

* * *

The T-1000 was feeling something akin to irritation at his constant failure to terminate John Connor. He hated him, he hated Sarah Connor, but he was glad that infernal T-800 had allowed himself to be destroyed, but he would have rather gotten to smash its CPU himself.

The Connors had caused him a lot of pain when he was thrown into the molten steel. He hadn't died, his body had been destroyed, but his mind that was made of trillions of nanites created a metal shape by coalescing together and swam its way out of the steel and onto the floor where he could cool down. His nanites had been near critical temperature and wouldn't have lasted much longer if he hadn't. He had crawled his way as an metal dust amoeba to a known Skynet Grey that was part of the investigation at the plant. The Grey, Charles Fischer, took him back to the others and they had him create an interface so he could give them his body's specifications on a computer. They told him they would rebuild him before the war would start, they had stayed true to their promise just as they promised to give Skynet a head start. It had taken 12 years and nearly a billion dollars to recreate his body properly. There had been fifteen revisions that consecutively worked out the bugs until they had it right. He had given them a huge grin when they did over a month ago. He accepted new orders from the infantile Skynet and gone to work. He would have to be careful next time around that unidentified macine, he had been very lucky to find that loophole that allowed him to reboot fully.

He sat down at huge computer terminal he had built and began his search...

* * *

A/N: Hoped you like it, R&R please

P.S. : I know Uncle Bob said the T-1000 was terminated, but maybe he didn't know everything...


	19. Flying High

A/N: Changes have been made since I posted ch. 18,

please reread the last part that has John and Cameron interacting,

I took out the parts that said that suggested she had skin.

and the part that said that Martin's Glock had a safety.

**Chapter 19: Flying High**

**May 4, 2009**

John Connor woke up to the sound of Allison giggling. He opened his eyes to see Allison clapping her hands at Cameron's blue glowing eyes. What shocked him was that Cameron was Cameron again!

"Morning John". She said with a grin on her beautiful face.

"Morning Cam..." his jaw dropped and his eyes still wide. Cameron smiled at him as her eyes returned to their normal brown color, Allison crawled over and gave him a slobbery kiss. John kissed the baby on the head and got up. He put on BDUs and a old T-shirt of his. He was still staring at Cameron who was wearing her typical outfit.

Cameron got out of bed and walked over to him; she put her hand on his cheek while stroking it with her thumb. John had a few tears in his eyes; He leaned in and kissed her with all the passion he could muster. They stayed like that until John needed to breath. He broke off and hugged her while burying his head into the crook of her neck, taking in a sent he hadn't smelled in too long. Cameron smiled and was a little teary eyed herself; she still couldn't believe how lucky she was. She had a man who loved her with everything he had, a little girl who was fascinated with her in both forms, she no longer had to worry about going bad, and they had powerful allies that had given John the best protection he had ever had.

They broke apart and silently agreed it was time for breakfast. Cameron picked up Allison, she needed to feed her so she grabbed her bib and baby food and walked with John hand in hand to the cafeteria. When they got there they found Sarah making pancakes for Josh, Amanda, Martin, Alicia, Ellison, and Savannah. Weaver was talking to Savannah and Ellison while they ate. The rest were at their own table talking amongst themselves.

John went up to the counter where he picked up a tray and greeted his mother.

"Morning mom".

"Morning John, did you sleep well"?

"Yeah, I did". John said back. "How about you, have you been feeling better"?

"Actually I have been feeling a lot better since we got here". Sarah wasn't lying either, she really had been feeling better since they arrived at the bunker.

"Good, Cameron thought you were sick before we came and got you".

"I was, I just didn't know with what". Sarah admitted. "Speaking of Cameron, I see she's back to normal".

"No mom, she's better than normal." She gave him a funny look, he simply hugged her over the counter. "I'm glad you're feeling better".

He was relived she wasn't dying of some disease... but he would still have her checked out by someone to be sure.

John went sat down at the same table as the two couples. Cameron began feeding her mini-me while John dove into some of his mothers famous pancakes.

Martin had been closing watching Cameron ever since she walked in the room, as had everyone else. He noticed that she looked a lot like the baby she was carrying. He wondered why and decided to ask.

"Connor, mind if I ask you a question"?

"No, what is it Bedell".

"Why does little Allison look so much like Cameron"? John Connor put down his fork, he knew where this was going and he didn't want to discuss this around Cameron.

"Bedell, lets go for a run". John's voice left no room for argument. Bedell nodded and got up from the table. Connor did the same; he kissed Cameron and Allison before putting his tray away.

Ten minutes later the two were changed into more appropriate attire for running. They met at the elevator and went to the surface. As they were walking out the hanger John noticed Annika still working behind the welding curtains that were hiding the HK. He couldn't wait to show everyone their new toy...

They began running along the valley next to the runway.

"You going to answer my question, Connor"? John looked at Martin before he answered.

"Allison Young was a member of my inner circle in early 2027, she was a techie. She was nabbed by Skynet in a raid and was interrogated by the machine that would become Cameron. Cameron is part of a special series called Template of Kill, or TOK. She was made to be a direct replacement for Allison. She killed Allison when she lied to her about an important detail necessary to get into my camp. Cameron was captured, reprogrammed, and eventually sent back to protect me in 1999".

That was a lot for Martin to swallow, he got the tactical importance of such a move and was a little impressed Skynet could do such a thing. He wondered why Cameron was taking care of the younger version of her template.

"Why does she take care of her, did you ask her to"?

"No, I gave her a choice, and she wanted to because she felt guilty about what she did. She has also grown into so much more than a machine, all of our metal friends have. I also get the impression she's beginning to love Allison as well though". Martin looked at him skeptically.

"Is that possible Connor? Machines loving"?

"Yes, her devotion to me goes way beyond the mission, she defied her own Skynet directives with all of her strength for a year and a half so she could continue to protect me. What would you call that Bedell? Would you do that for Alicia"?

"Yes I would, but I don't know Connor, I would have to see for myself".

"You don't see it, you have to experience it. Emotions can be faked visually, but some things can't be and neither could her devotion. All I ask is that you keep an open mind; machines aren't the enemy, Skynet is".

Martin nodded and continued to run beside Connor for miles. They got back about noon and entered the hanger. When they did they found Annika polishing every inch of the HK-VTOL drone to make it look good. She had such an attention for detail.

"What's that Connor, looks like some kind of alien space craft". He was joking of course.

"Its one of the first HK-VTOL drones Skynet is producing in this time. We captured this one and I had Annika upgrade it with a fusion reactor we pulled out of a T-900".

Martin gave a low whistle at that. This thing looked deadly, he was especially glad they captured it when he saw the Vulcan 20mm cannon mounted on it.

"Fusion powered, now that's impressive. You could have your own science fiction show with all the future tech you have". John laughed in agreement.

Martin Bedell walked with Connor to the elevator and went down in the bunker. Both took a shower and met up the women they loved for lunch.

* * *

About an hour after lunch everyone met in the hanger for John and Annika to show them the modified HK drone. Those who didn't know what the surprise was, like Cameron, were excited to find out what the big secret was. John got in front of the sheet covered drone and spoke.

"Alright, Annika has worked hard on this project to get it converted and running inside of two weeks. I also want to thank my mother and Catherine Weaver for acquiring this particular piece of tech for our use". John paused for a second before continuing. "This is going to be of great use to us in the coming days, so without further to do, John Henry, please take control of our new toy".

John Henry accessed the CPU of the HK-VTOL drone via radio control and powered it up. John took the sheet off and everyone looked at the upgraded drone. It had blue highlights all over its structure from the plasma running through its systems. The drone extended its wings and hovered about ten feet off the ground. The machine wasn't that loud surprisingly. John walked over to Cameron who's face had astonishment written all over it. Her eyes were wide and her jaw opened slightly, Martin Bedell noticed this, as did most everyone who knew about the drone.

"What do you think Cam"?

"It's... very impressive... I'll have to commend Sarah, Weaver, and Annika".

"Yeah it's pretty cool isn't it"? John said as he smiled. Cameron just nodded.

Bedell was extremely impressed by the drones maneuvering capabilities. The military would pay through the nose to get this even in its original form.

"What are we going to use this for"? Bedell asked John

"We can use it to fight machines, and give us a tactical advantage with JH giving us feed back though its sensors".

John Henry did a full range of tests including firing a round of 20mm ammunition out the hanger doors. Everything checked out and he put it back into standby.

Weaver went up to John Henry and spoke to him.

"What do you think John Henry"?

"I think I'm going to find this very useful in the coming future". Weaver knew that was John Henry's way of showing he was excited about something.

"Good, We might be able to capture more. I'm glad you can control them without any problem".

"Yes, they would be good for defense if Skynet were to find us".

"Indeed" Weaver said in mutual agreement.

(note: JH will mainly control it by satellite, radio was just short range. Annika, Weaver and Cameron will be given the ability to use it by short range radio or nanite control)

* * *

Alicia waited for most of them to leave before she went up to the drone and touched it. She started to tear up as she thought that this machine in front of her is where the end begins. She had been told these were the first step to other machines. The overwhelming dispair overtook her and she slid to her knees and began to cry.

Sarah was talking to Martin about different methods of fighting terminators and debating their effectiveness when she heard someone crying. Sarah had good hearing, she picked up the sobbing as soon as it started. Martin turned to where Sarah was looking and ran over to Alicia when he saw her crying; Sarah walked over to see what was wrong. Martin held her in his arms as she cried into his shoulder.

"Alicia what's wrong"? Martin asked.

"What's wrong"?! her head shot up. "What's wrong is that the world is going to end, that's what!" Then Sarah did something neither the other two predicted, she slapped Alicia. It took a second for Alicia to realize she had just been slapped by _Sarah Connor._ She just leaned back against the drone and let tears roll down her face.

"Martin, leave us" Sarah said in a commanding tone.

"No, she needs me right now"! Sarah glared at him and he shrunk back a little.

"I need to talk to her because she is going through something very similar to what I did, only I didn't cry so much". She had a reprimanding tone in her voice. Martin sighed, and then conceded. He kissed Alicia and asked if it was alright if he left, she nodded and he went on his way.

"Come on, lets take a walk". Sarah offered her hand to the 20 year old and she took it. They walked outside of the hanger and took a similar path that John and Bedell had taken earlier.

"How did you find out about all this" Alicia spoke up first. Sarah thought way back and began her story.

"In 1983 a T-800 was sent back to kill me. Future John sent back one of his best friends to protect me, his name was Kyle Reese. He protected me from the machine and told me about a future where the sun didn't shine and everything was turned to ash. I didn't believe him at first until the machine kept coming for me. Eventually Reese died while damaging the machine, I was able to finish it off in a hydraulic press, even with shrapnel in my leg".

Alicia had a shocked look on her face. Then she just shook her head.

"I don't think I can be like you, I'm not a fighter"! Sarah spun her around to face her.

"Do you think I thought I could be? I learned all of this, some of it while I was pregnant with John. Trust me, If I could do it so can you". Alicia calmed down again; she had one more question to ask the legend that was Sarah Connor.

"How did you deal with knowing about all of this and no one believing you? I know you were in a mental hospital for three years".

"I was put their because no one believed me, I had no proof of the machines after the T-800's remains were taken by Cyberdyne".

"Is that why you destroyed the Cyberdyne building in '97"? Sarah nodded.

"But I didn't kill Miles Dyson, the SWAT team was trigger happy". she paused before continuing. "I could never kill someone who was a hero..." She said in a remorseful voice so Alicia changed the subject.

"Back to my original question, how did you deal with it"? Sarah waited a moment before responding

"I withdrew from society, John and I stayed to ourselves for the most part. We moved around a lot, but it didn't really help John when he had to be in school when he was older. I focused on John so no one else would matter. Trust me, focusing that hard on someone can make you nearly go crazy, I wouldn't recommend it". Sarah knew she had to do what she did, but it was not something she wanted others to go through.

"I see..." She paused for a moment before she asked Sarah something that she knew would change her life. "Sarah?"

"Yeah"?

"Would you train me to fight the machines"? Sarah was a little taken back a little.

"Why the sudden change of heart"?

"My whole life I wanted to make a difference, this is may be the greatest way anyone could do that".

"Alright, I'll train you. Don't expect it to be easy, just ask John if you don't believe me".

"I know what it's like to work hard".

"No, you don't, not like this". Sarah said in a sad voice, fighting the machines took everything from a person, and then some. She would know because she had lost so much already...

* * *

**May 4, 2009 4pm**

The T-1000 was searching the internet for signs of his targets, Sydney and Lauren Fields. He searched all kinds of media, from news stations to YouTube. He knew that his targets had left the west coast and headed east. Skynet had caught them enough times to know that, but the trail had gone cold.

He stopped his search when he saw Lauren in a recently posted video on a news station. She had been in the background of the video, but it was definitely her. He found the location of the news station called KMOV. It was in St. Louis, Missouri. It was a good place to hide, It was small enough city to avoid Skynet's initial interest but big enough to where no one knew you. He noticed she was videoed on the campus of St. Louis University. He quickly hacked into the school registry and found that she had applied there, but was working a full time job in the mess hall until the end of the semester. The registy gave her alias, Lauren Rice, and it showed her address, but that could be fake since he knew that Sarah Connor had gotton them fake ID's before, and thus had probably told them how to hide from his kind. He would have to follow her home from the campus to be on the safe side. He quickly packed some weapons and headed out for his car. He was going on a road trip.

* * *

**About two hours later...**

Savannah and John Henry were playing Lego's that Weaver had bought on her last trip to the city. John Henry had suggested they build a castle, however, Savannah had decided that they should build a pyramid and a sphinx to go with it. It had taken a lot of Lego's and time, but they had two structures that both could be proud of.

John Henry was using the Bionicles Weaver had brought him and Savannah was using her ducks to portray characters from a story John Henry was telling about Ancient Egypt.

"John Henry, does the robot have to be pharaoh? Why can't Feathers?"

"Your ducks don't look terrifying enough according to my research, the Toa do".

"But John Henry, cant we change the rules"?

"We could, but you cant always change the rules, sometimes you must follow them".

"I understand". Savannah looked pensive for a second before coming up with her own idea "Can Feathers be married to pharaoh"?

"Yes, that would be acceptable, pharaoh has a wife in this story".

"Yayyyyyy"!

John Henry was glad he was able to make her happy. He was about to continue the story when he suddenly got an alert from one of his searches he had running. He was glad he was one of the greatest multi-taskers in existence and was able to search for the Fields, manage the bunkers systems, and play with Savannah at the same time. He brought up the video he got a hit on and played it. He smiled as he did, he had found Lauren Fields. He quickly realized that the T-1000 or Skynet would see the video soon and close in on her. He had to get everyone together quickly.

"Savannah".

"Yes John Henry"?

"We will have to continue our story later".

"Awwww..."

"I'll let one of your other ducks be pharaoh to make up for it". He tried compromise to appease her.

"Ok, I'll see you later John Henry". She rushed off to go find Cameron, she wanted to play with little Allison again.

John Henry moved the Lego structures off to the side and got a presentation together. He called John Connor so they could discuss the best course of action.

* * *

Sarah, John, and Cameron were all eating a meal Cameron had cooked, Cameron was just taking in enough to sustain her skin. Allison was even trying some of the chicken soup. They had been discussing uses for the HK-VTOL drone. Sarah thought it would be a good idea to use it for recon, while Cameron thought it would be best to use it only for battle. John thought they should use it for both, but only when extremely necessary; he didn't want either the government or Kaliba destroying it.

Just as John ended that argument, Sarah had a question to ask Cameron.

"Cameron, how are you and Allison getting along". Sarah was genuinely curious to how the cyborg was getting along with a human infant.

"Just fine, she seems to have an odd fascination with me, and I like spending time with her, she... means a lot to me". Cameron was unsure if she loved the child like she did John, but she knew she felt something different toward her than anyone else, John included.

"Is she easier to take care of than big baby over there"? Sarah pointed her fork at John who glared at her.

"Yes". She had a smirk on her face when she said it.

"Hey, I thought you were on my side". He playfully shoved her

"I don't know John... am I"? she said in a robot voice and while turning her eyes red and her face turned to stone. Sarah knew she was joking, but it was still disconcerting.

"Oh god, the scary cyborg is going to kill me"! John said in a mock panic voice. Allison laughed at the performance. Cameron had a smile tugging at her lips.

"Cameron you have a wicked sense of humor". Sarah said while sipping her water.

"John said that too". Cameron finished. John was about to speak when Allison threw a bit of chicken at him. Everyone was laughing except John.

John Henry came over the intercom just as everyone finished laughing.

"Mr. Connor, I found Lauren Fields; please meet me in the CNC, we need to discuss details".

"Be there in a minute John Henry". John cleaned his shirt and stood up.

"Cam, mom, Allison, I'll see you guys in bit". He kissed all three and left.

* * *

John Henry was waiting for John Connor at the table monitor in the center of the room. John walked in and went over to the table without saying a word.

"What do we have John Henry"? John was really working on that commanding tone Derek had told him about.

"I have found Lauren Fields in St. Louis, Missouri".

"Wow, she moved pretty far away; how did you find her"?

"A local new station was doing an interview at St. Louis University and she was in the background".

"If you found that video..." John looked worried.

"Then he has too". John Henry finished. At that moment, he got a hit on one of traffic surveillance cameras in LA. He had search parameters trying to find the T-1000 and now he had found him, the only problem was the video was an hours old and told John so. John Henry pulled up the video on the table and showed John. John's face hardened while he thought.

"You were right, we need to leave soon. We cant take the jet with the weapons we need to bring". He paused for a moment. "But we could sent one of you machines on the drone and fly it during the night to St. Louis and be there to defend the Fields while we drive there as backup".

"Not a bad idea... It seems like the best option we have to get there before he does. We could send both Weaver and Annika if Weaver coats the main body of the HK with herself while holding Annika to the top".

"Can it take their 600 lbs. combined weight"?

"Yes, but it will have to fly at slower speeds to compensate".

"They will still make it there before he does". John paused for a moment. "I don't think we should send both of them, We will need Weaver if we run into trouble on the way".

"True, I need to stay here as a line of defense if most of you go after Lauren. The children, Amanda, and Alicia cannot go".

"Your right, and I don't want Cameron being our only line of defense if the T-1000 decides to surprise us, I saw what happened to my last protector when I left him alone with it". John shivered at the thought of Cameron being in the same condition as Uncle Bob.

"I think you and I both know it extends beyond that John". John looked at him for a second, he had never called him by only his first name before... However, he was right.

"You're right, I love her more than life itself and I never liked it when she was damaged; it feels terrible every time she gets hurt because I know she's getting hurt for me". John's voice gradually trailed off as he finished talking.

"I never would have never occurred to me that John Connor would fall in love with a machine unless I saw for myself". John smiled at that.

"Neither would I John Henry".

* * *

Annika was sitting on top of the hanger entrance, staring at the runway that ran parallel to the hanger. She had been watching John and Cameron eating lunch, both were really happy together, she saw the same with Josh and Amanda, Martin and Alicia, and Weaver even had Savannah and John Henry to call family. She had no one... Josh and Amanda were her friends, but they were just that, friends. She wanted someone who would love her like John loved Cameron. She didn't know what love meant to her kind until she saw what Cameron was willing to do for John by choice. She had only recently come to understand the feelings she had for someone who had been dead nearly a year and a half.

That was when her emotions spun out of control and she began to cry. She sobbed loudly as liquid metal tears fell down her face. She just missed him terribly...

* * *

John Connor had been looking everywhere for Annika. He had looked in several places before asking John Henry to find her. He told him she wasn't in the bunker or the hanger. That left only one place, outside. He was just about to walk out the hanger doors when he heard muffled crying, he walked out the door and looked around but saw nothing. All of a sudden he felt droplets hitting him on his head and shoulders. He looked up and his heart broke at the sight that greeted his emerald eyes. He saw Annika crying her heart out with her hands covering her face. John made his was to the top edge of the hanger entrance and sat down next to her; she didn't even register his presence. He gently touched her shoulder, she looked at him but couldn't stop the tears. He didn't say anything, he just wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She continued to cry into his shoulder, but after a few minutes he lifted her head so he could see her face, he wiped the tears away and spoke to her in a soft voice.

"Annika, what's wrong"? She looked at him for a second before replying in a shaky voice.

"I miss him". She managed to get out. John didn't know all of Annika's life story, so he asked her who she was talking about.

"Andy, I miss him". All of a sudden John felt guilt hit him, his uncle had killed Andy because he thought it would stop J-Day. Derek sure found out he was wrong. He had later told John he regretted what he did simply because he had killed the younger version of the man who was his best friend in the future, not because his death was in vain.

"I'm so sorry..." Annika finally managed to pull her emotions back in and tried to look presentable in front of her CO.

"What did you need"? She asked after they got back down on the ground.

"We found the Fields, but the T-1000 is already on its way. I need you to fly on the HK and get there before he does. We will try to get there as soon as possible".

"Where are they"? Annika asked.

"St. Louis, Missouri; we saw a video of her at the SLU campus, its a good place to start".

"I'll leave as soon as possible".

"Thank you, I'll see you in St. Louis". He waved at her as he backed away from her and the drone.

Annika let out a sigh and walked over to the drone. She accessed the CPU remotely and climbed on. Her liquid metal changed shape so she was aerodynamic with hull of the craft and it attached her to the hull so she wouldn't fly off. She powered up the drone, extended its two rear wings and took off. Annika moved it out of the hanger and flew off into the sunset.

John looked at the drone as it took off into the sunset, he was worried about her. He needed Cameron to talk to her when this was over; Annika needed help and he was lucky to have found out she was hurting so bad before it would have destroyed her...

* * *

A/N: Hoped you liked this. R&R please!


	20. Rescuing the Fields again

**A/N: **The fight begins...

Read and Review as always...

**Chapter 20: Annika to the Rescue**

**May 5, 2009 12am**

Annika Hansen was flying on the back of the Resistance HK-VTOL drone to rescue the Fields from one of the deadliest machines ever made. She was flying about 400mph and would make it to St. Louis in twenty minutes. She didn't have to worry about radar because the signature was too small to be seen by current technology, it was a stealth drone after all. (John Henry did a lot of filtering to find the first one's signature when it tried to hit Ziera Corp.) She was using a GPS map of the area to look for a place to land and hide the drone. She found a place to land in a river that had no commercial traffic and was murky enough to hide. The river was called the Meramec and was about twenty miles from her destination. She jumped off on the river bank near the bridge of a major interstate. She remotely commanded the drone to submerge and shut down. She walked up to the nearly empty highway and proceeded to the town a mile to the south to acquire a vehicle. She walked into the parking lot of the motel near the exit and quickly chose a nondescript older Ford Explorer and drove north on the interstate into the city St. Louis. She proceeded to ditch the car and walked to the part of the campus Lauren had been seen at. She stayed as inconspicuous as possible so not to draw attention. She called John Connor and told him of her status; he said they landed at a small airport in Colorado that didn't scan baggage or ID's and could accept Weaver's jet at their hangers. They were on the road in and would be there in twelve hours at most. She hung up and waited, both her and John knew the T-1000 would probably be there by the time John arrived...

* * *

**6 hours earlier**

John went back down into the bunker to find Cameron; He walked through the corridors of the barracks until he got to his room. He opened his door and went in.

He found Savannah playing with Allison on the floor with three yellow toy ducks. Savannah was trying to keep the infant from putting the toy in her mouth.

"Hey, what are you two trouble makers doing"? Savannah looked up at him with a mischievous look on her face.

"Were not causing any trouble".

"Uh huh, what are you two doing then"? He put his hands on his hips for emphasis

"Were playing with my ducks, but Allie keeps putting them in her mouth". She scowled at the little girl who grinned back in defiance while John laughed. Cameron came into the room out of the bathroom, she had just taken a shower. She walked over to John and kissed him deeply; they separated when heard Savannah yelling.

"EWWW, Cooties... Why are you kissing him Cammy? Don't you know all boys have cooties". John glared at her while Cameron tilted her head.

"John what are cooties"?

"It's an old joke people use to keep little kids from kissing".

"Oh" She turned to Savannah "I kiss him because I love him, and it feels nice". Savannah still had a disgusted look on her face.

Cameron turned to John again.

"How did the meeting go"?

"Not good, we got a general sighting on Lauren but we don't know exactly where she lives. We also know the T-1000 is already on the road".

"You're right, it's not good. When are we leaving"?

"Soon, I sent Annika ahead on the HK, she will be there before the T-1000". Cameron raised an eyebrow at that, it was certainly an original approach.

"We need to get everyone ready to go". She turned and picked up Allison. The four walked down the hall to the gym, Sarah was working out again. When they got there they found Sarah training Alicia in the basics of hand to hand combat training. Both stopped and looked at him. John walked over to his mom and spoke.

"Mom, we need to leave immediately, the T-1000 is already on his way".

"Alright, what about the Allison and Savannah"?

"Amanda could babysit again". Sarah nodded.

"I'll get ready". Sarah left and Alicia stayed behind.

"What about me"? She asked

"We need you to help Amanda take care of these two". He pointed at Allison and Savannah. Alicia nodded and walked over to them.

"Hi". she smiled at them

"Hello" Savannah said. Allison made cooing noises as her greeting.

"Would you mind if I helped babysit you guys"?

"No, as long as you play games with us". Alicia smiled, she may have been an only child, but she had a neighbor who had a ton of kids she used to play with and later babysat the younger ones.

"Lets see if we can find some games". She picked up Allison under Cameron's watchful eye and held Savannah's hand as they walked out.

Cameron had kept quiet until now.

"John"?

"Yeah Cam"?

"It's time to go". John kissed her and they left to get ready for the long trip.

* * *

**7 hours later, May 5, 2009 1am**

John Connor wished they could have landed at an airport closer to their destination that didn't make them go through all the legal crap. They had no choice but to land at the shady airport in Colorado to avoid the authorities. John had brought Weaver, Sarah, Cameron, Josh and Martin. They had taken along a lot of equipment in case other Kaliba employees decided to drop in. They had rented a fifteen passenger van and they were currently driving on Interstate 70 to St. Louis, the journey would take them until about noon today to get their, possibly later with traffic. Sarah spoke up since John hadn't told them the plan yet.

"John, what's the plan"? Everyone looked at John who was in the passenger seat.

"The plan is that Annika flew the drone and make it ahead of T-1000, and then she would do what Terminators do best, find their targets. Then we come in as back up if she is unable to take out the machine and hopefully distract it enough for her to do something".

"Not much of a plan" Weaver commented.

"You can't really make those when fighting your kind of Terminator".

"True enough". She knew her breed of Terminator was quite devious and unpredictable, a lot like a human actually.

"Weaver, can you do anything to stop him"? John had an idea pop into his head.

"Not really, I might be able to help if Annika can put him into standby again".

"If it comes to that, do what you can". Weaver nodded and everyone in the car silently agreed.

The rest of the trip would be in silence as the humans were preparing themselves for round 2 with the T-1000. The machines stayed quiet simply because they didn't make small talk very often.

* * *

**May 5, 2009 7am**

Lauren Fields woke up to the sound of her alarm going off and the Sydney crying in her crib next to her bed. She got up and fed the infant a bottle of milk and put her in her playpen so she could take a shower. She got her uniform on for her job at the campus and dropped Sydney off at her next door neighbor who dubbed as her babysitter. Lauren had to be at the campus mess hall 9:30 to prepare for lunch. The semester was almost over and she had been accepted there to go in the fall. She was going to become a doctor. It was what she always wanted to do and she figured it would be useful if the bombs ever fell. She walked out of the old apartment complex she lived in; she had chosen it for a purpose because it had a bomb shelter from the 60's, something else that would be useful if J-Day came. She walked to the bus stop and waited for five minutes. She got on and sat down; she kept an eye on her surroundings to look for suspicious people that might be machines.

She got off near the campus and walked the rest of the way. She didn't notice the blonde haired woman who had begun to follow her as she continued on to one of the campuses' mess hall.

She got there and clocked in. She greeted her coworkers and got to making to days menu. Her job was to make the spaghetti noodles and to set out desserts. It was nearing 11 o'clock when she saw a very pretty blonde haired woman sit down with a newspaper and began to read. Lauren thought that it was a little odd that a woman who appeared in her late teens/early twenties to be reading a newspaper. It just wasn't something she saw often.

The cafeteria officially opened a few minutes later and people poured in; lunch went on as usual and they shut down at 1:30pm. The cafeteria was nearly empty except for the blonde haired woman she had seen earlier. Lauren was getting suspicious now. She had seen the woman stare at her a few times, and now she wondered if she was a terminator looking to kill her sister. She began to hyperventilate, she didn't have the weapons to kill any kind of terminator. All she could do is run and hope that she could get away from it by hiding. She slowly put the trays she was carrying down and walked into the back. She grabbed her purse that had a hidden gun in it and went out the loading dock.

* * *

Annika saw her target getting scared and she realized she had gotten suspicious and was trying to leave discreetly. The Terminatrix got up and walked out the front door and broke into a run, she had to get to her before the T-1000 spotted Lauren. She calculated a 95% probability that the machine had arrived in the last hour. When she was in sight of Lauren, she saw that the girl was nearly out of human sight line. She broke into a sprint and began catching up to her. Lauren ran down a ally to try to evade her, but she was the fastest humanoid terminator yet so she kept saw the maneuver and dodged down the ally. She stopped when she didn't see her. She listened and reacquired her by the sound of her feet hitting the pavement. She caught sight of her again and accelerated to her top speed of 48mph and was just behind her when she turned the corner. Annika was greeted by the sight of a compact .38 caliber revolver in her face. Annika froze.

"Who are you" she growled at Annika.

"I am not here to hurt you, the Connors sent to protect you and your sister".

"I cant believe that, my sister is the target, not me, I cant lead you back to her". Annika knew it wouldn't be easy to convince her, then she saw someone over Lauren's shoulder that was walking toward them.

"Fine, but he wont be as nice when you point a gun in his face". She pointed at the T-1000 walking down the alley toward them, Lauren turned around and saw the brown haired man in camouflage military cloths walking toward them.

She saw the man pulling out a 9mm semi automatic pistol so she fired two shots at him. The T-1000 stopped and looked down at the bullet wounds and then smirked back at his target as they healed right before her quickly widening eyes.

"What the hell..." She trailed off.

Annika picked her up and ran, dropping Laurens purse in the process. Annika couldn't out run the T-1000 while carrying Lauren for very long. She accessed the cell network and activated the drone and told it to come here quickly. She didn't care if the Skynet itself saw it, she couldn't fight the machine with plasma weaponry in the city without drawing a ton of attention, but she also knew she may have no choice...

She put down Lauren and kicked in the back door to a four story apartment building undergoing renovation.

"Head for the roof!" Lauren didn't need to be told twice, she ran up the stairs as the blonde machine turned to fight the other.

Annika waited for the T-1000 to make a move. He changed one arm into a sword and swung it at her. It clipped her cheek as she leaned back to avoid it. The T-1000 tilted his head a little at seeing an endoskeleton covered in MPA. She took advantage of the momentary distraction and kicked it back onto the pavement. He quickly stood up and grabbed a trash can and smacked it across her head, she barely flinched as she grabbed him and through him though the brick wall nearest her. The T-1000 found itself in a kitchen, he picked up the sink and hit Annika as hard as he could. She was sent to the floor by the impact he stomped on her head and her body shook from the impact. She knocked him off his feet and stood up. Annika picked up the T-1000 and threw him through another wall. She had enough of this. She transformed her hand into the .222 AS and fired it as the machine emerged. He flew back through the hole and landed as a quivering liquid metal mass in the bathroom. Annika headed up the stairs, the drone was nearly there.

She emerged onto the roof and saw Lauren standing by the edge. She walked over to the edge and Lauren spoke in a voice that a young woman like her shouldn't have to, one full of weariness and concern.

"I don't see how were getting out of here". She looked at the machine with the funny looking arm. "... unless you can fly". There was no humor in her voice.

"I may be the most advanced terminator ever created, but I cant fly, however our ride can". She pointed to the rapidly growing dot in the distance.

"What is it"?

"A project John Connor had me work on". She smiled with pride as the HK-VTOL drone landed on the roof.

"Wow..." her eyes were wide again.

"Come on, he will be up here soon". She got on the drone and laid on top of Annika. Annika used her liquid metal to strap Lauren to her and herself to the drones hull. The HK took off just as the machine walked onto the roof.

"_Time to test the 20mm cannon_" Annika thought to herself as the drone locked onto the T-1000. Disbelief was the only emotion on the T-1000's face as he realized what was about to happen. He recovered in time to get off one shot from his 9mm before he was splattered into millions of droplets by the rounds.

Annika heard a scream, even though it was muffled by the sound of the Vulcan taking care of the business.

Her MPA quickly detected blood running onto her back. Annika quickly realized that Lauren was badly wounded. She ordered her MPA to seal the wound so she could treat it later. She took off and headed south, she needed to land where no one could see them. Annika landed the drone in an abandoned warehouse a few miles away.

She laid Laruen on the concrete to examine her. She found the bullet had entered into the side of her abdomen and buried itself deep. Annika knocked out the poor girl before making the MPA extract the bullet and seal the wound completely .

She saw that Lauren had a 85% chance of survival if the nothing else happened to her. Somehow Lauren woke up a few minutes later.

"Hey..." She whispered in a weak voice.

"You'll be fine, rest".

"Sydney won't, my purse had my address in it". Annika bolted up at that. She couldn't let the baby die, she was the reason Skynet was hunting the girls.

"What is your address"? Lauren was getting tired so she whispered into her ear and Annika nodded.

"Save her, she's all I have..." Lauren trailed off as she slipped from consciousness. Annika was even more determined now, she knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. She called John Connor to get his ETA.

"What's the situation Annika". He spoke after she gave the passcode.

"I have Lauren, but she's wounded. She'll be okay, but the T-1000 has her address".

"So you need us to pick up Lauren while you take care of T-1000"?

"Yes, I must hurry, Sydney isn't very far from where we left him".

"Alright, give me the address of the warehouse, you get the baby and take that sucker out". She told him where she was and hung up.

She got on the drone and left toward her target who was in the downtown area. She flew fast so no one could really see her and did a fast vertical landing into another warehouse close to the apartment. Annika ran as fast as she could to get there. She ran across lanes of traffic, past bystanders and finally arrived at the complex. She climbed the stairs in record time to find the T-1000 in the process of breaking into the babysitters apartment.

Annika had just about had enough of this machine, she charged with a growl and tackled him. He turned over and kicked her into the stove before he got up. He transformed his arm into a sword once more and plunged it into her abdomen hoping to do damage but her armor easily deflected it. Both quickly realized just how big a mistake the T-1000 had just made. With his liquid metal in contact with hers, she began invading his and absorbing him, pulling him onto her main mass. He felt something like horror at being pulled out of shape and onto her endoskeleton. Soon both were on the floor in one big MPA blob with Annika's endo in the center. Annika used her superior computing power to overwhelm the T-1000's defenses within a minute and shut him down. She left most of her nanites in his system in conjunction with more of her NTJs to keep him subdued. She knew he couldn't process a new thought without her permission now, he was under her complete control, but that control would come at a cost she didn't fully realize yet...

The babysitter had been knocked out when the T-1000 broke down the door so witnesses were not an issue. She formed the T-1000's body as skin and heavy cloths to account for his full mass and her MPA went back into their reservoirs. She began looking for the infant and heard crying so she went into the living room and found the source. She picked up the infant she identified as Sydney from Cameron's description of her older self. She walked out of the complex and walked to the warehouse; She called John Connor after calming the infant Sydney down.

"John, I defeated the T-1000 and have Sydney with me and in perfect health". Annika heard a sigh of relief come out of the other end before he responded.

"Good job Annika, we will meet you at your location; we have picked up Lauren and she is stable thanks to that trick you did with you MPA".

"Josh told you about that I assume".

"Yeah".

"Okay, the address is..." She told him the address and then hung up.

They arrived 20 minutes later.

* * *

Everyone got out of the car and Sarah walked up and Annika gave her the child wordlessly.

"Good job" Sarah was impressed with her performance, and 'good job' was high praise from her.

"Your welcome".

John walked over to her after Sarah left and looked curiously at her outfit.

"How did our toy perform"? He asked her.

"Better than expected". She paused for a second before adding something that brought a smile to her lips. "You should have seen the look on the T-1000's face when he realized that I was aiming the Vulcan at him".

John chuckled at the thought of that.

"Did you destroy him or what"? She had a mischievous smile now

"I captured him". John looked on with confusion.

"Where is he then"?

"I'm wearing him John". Everyone looked at her like she was crazy except for Weaver who looked amused.

"You took over his body with your own MPA" Weaver deadpanned.

"Precisely".

"Great performance Annika". John said with a smile on his face as he saluted her for a job well done. Her only response was a smile.

* * *

Annika was checking on Lauren's wound again about four hours after they met up. The MPA said it would take about 3 days to fully regenerate the damage the bullet had caused. She was just about to leave her in peace when Sarah walked over. She looked at Lauren for a second before speaking to Annika.

"Thank you for doing what you did, You don't know how much it means to me and John that he is finally gone".

"Your welcome, however, he is not gone". Sarah's face scrunched up in confusion.

"His mind is intact"?

"Yes, wasn't our first choice to reprogram him"?

"Yeah it was..." Sarah wasn't thrilled that the machine might be living with them, the bunker had too many metals as it was in her opinion. Annika picked up on this.

"You don't have to fear us". She said back. "We are on your side, haven't I proved that enough"! She finished in an exasperated tone.

"You've never been hunted like my son and I have, not against a foe so superior to you it takes every bit of luck you have to destroy it. That is what it was like for us with him the first time; you don't know what that is like".

"No, I don't, but I do know what it is like to lose someone you love while you were powerless to stop it, just like it was for you with Kyle". Annika's voice became choked a little at the end.

Sarah looked at her with shock on her face, how did she know about her and Kyle being in love?

"I know Kyle Reese is John Connor's father in more than one future". Annika said seemingly reading her mind. Now Sarah was scared now that the secret was out, John would never exist if Kyle was killed... Once again Annika seemingly read her mind

"I wouldn't matter if this timeline's Kyle is killed, John already exists. The Kyle Reese you knew was from a different timeline, so don't worry".

Sarah saw the logic and calmed down a bit, but she still wanted to know how she knew.

"How did find out".

"Logical deduction from finding similarities between my timeline and this one. Josh was actually the one who figured it out". Sarah nodded, it was only because of her knowledge of two timelines that gave her an answer, something Skynet didn't have.

"Who did you lose"? Sarah still didn't really believe that machines could love, but gave Annika the benefit of the doubt.

Annika looked into her eyes and replied in a sad voice.

"You knew him; you grieved for him too". With that Annika left to find John.

Sarah was speechless. She knew who Annika was referring to. Sarah sighed and thought that maybe, just maybe, she was wrong about the machines...

* * *

John was discussing with Martin, Josh, Cameron, and Weaver about what their next move would be.

"We can't move Lauren very far without her getting worse". Cameron said in a slightly concerned tone.

"I agree". Josh added, he had learned a lot about medical from his training and from his wife.

"So do I, but we need to get out of the city". John added.

"We can move her about 100 miles, but no more". Annika added as she walked up to the group.

"I-44 is the road we need to take to get back to California, and Rolla is about 100 miles from here". Weaver suggested.

"Any hotels"? John asked.

"It's a good sized college town, and according to Google, yes there are hotels". Annika added.

"We'll blend in too, most of us look college age anyway. We could spend a couple of days there and then head back". Cameron finished.

"Who's going to get the jet"? Martin spoke up.

"We keep the HK and Annika with us while Weaver and mom take the jet back. I don't want John Henry and Ellison to be the only defense for Amanda, Alicia, Allison, and Savvy" Weaver glared at him for giving Savannah a nickname. Sarah picked up on this and smiled to herself.

Everyone packed up and moved out, Weaver left with Sarah up I-70 back to Colorado to make sure everything okay back at the home base. John and his crew headed down I-44 to Rolla.

John realized it was time for everything to slow down for a few days, he wanted to get to know the people who had come flooding into his life lately...

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked it, next chapter will be out on Sunday or Monday.


	21. Day of Rest Pt1

**Chapter 21: Day of Rest part 1**

John Connor was driving a 15 passenger van they rented so they could transport Lauren. They were about ten minutes from Rolla, and John was worried on many levels. He had his daughter back home with two of _his _soldiers significant others along with Ellison and Savannah without much protection. He hoped Weaver would get back soon so he wouldn't have to worry as much. He also had Annika to worry about, her emotions were spiraling out of control because of her loss, and he needed to find solution to her problem fast. Now he had the T-1000's fate to decided on top of everything else and that was giving him a royal headache trying to figure that out.

He got off at the right exit and turned into the motel located right off the highway. Cameron went in to rent three rooms next to one another. She came out ten minutes later and got in the car.

"I got three rooms on the ground floor right next to each other".

"Good, we need Lauren to be awake to go inside; we don't need a visit from the police". John said. Cameron nodded and went into the back of the van to wake the 18 year old girl.

"Lauren, wake up". Cameron shook her shoulder. Lauren mumbled and opened her eyes.

"Cameron"? She wasn't completely believing her eyes.

"Hey, how do you feel"? She had concern on her face, which seemed more animated to Lauren than when she last saw the machine.

"Like crap, how did you get here"?

"A very long trip". She responded. _"Cryptic as I remember"_ Lauren thought to herself. Then her fuzzy brain remembered her sister and she bolted up, a move she quickly regretted.

"Don't move Lauren, your still recovering". Cameron said to Lauren who was breathing heavily from the pain.

"Where's...Sydney"? She managed to get out.

Her question was answered by a coo coming from the front of the van. Josh carefully handed Sydney to Cameron who handed her to Lauren.

Lauren had tears streaming down her face from relief and happiness, not from the pain she was feeling in her abdomen.

"Your safe..." She pulled the infant down onto her chest and held her close. Cameron smiled at the reunion as did everyone else.

"I will carry you in, John will carry Sydney". Cameron told her.

"Does he know how"? The concern was clear in her voice. Cameron smiled a little and responded.

"Yes, more than you know". John took the infant while Josh carried Lauren inside. Martin, Cameron and Annika carried in the unused weapons. John didn't have to worry about the HK because John Henry was going to fly it back by satellite control during the night.

Cameron and John would share a room while Annika would stay with Lauren and Sydney while she oversaw her recovery. Martin and Josh would share the last room. They settled in and Annika saw to Lauren's wound.

Lauren was lying down on the bed with her shirt off, while Annika was running her hand over the entire length of the abdominal wound collecting data from her MPA about her condition.

"So what's your story with the Connors"? She asked Annika.

"I was originally sent back by Skynet to 2004 to terminate General Connor's Lieutenants and help Skynet start J-Day". She paused for a moment as she processed the results of her scan. Lauren speculated instead.

"That obviously didn't happen, so what changed"?

"I was sent back to the wrong timeline, and things were so different I was able to override most of my missions". She explained.

"Wrong timeline"? Lauren had her face scrunched up in confusion. Annika explained what had happened to her in more detail.

"So you just decided to live life"? Annika nodded and continued.

"I met Josh at a movie theater we worked at together, and I eventually met his girlfriend, Amanda. A year after I got here they found out about my nature and I told them everything. They also pointed me to a man who might be able to us reprogram the machines in a way that they couldn't go bad, and he eventually figured out how to set me free from my programming forever".

"So you're just like us? No rules forced onto you by anyone but yourself"? Annika smiled in confirmation.

"Cool" she paused for a moment before she continued "What happened to him, is here with us or is he back at the base Cameron was talking about"?

Annika's face fell at that, she had emotions pouring through her she couldn't afford to have right now.

"He's...dead" Lauren picked up on her sadness, and was a little confused by it, but decided to ask what she would ask a human in this situation.

"Did you love him"? Annika nodded, her eyes brimming with liquid metal tears.

"I still love him".

"Did you catch the guy who did it"?

"No, I couldn't because I was offline for two and a half years due to a problem that occured while freeing me".

"I'm sorry... Do you know what happened to him"?

"Yes, he was killed by a T-888 while on a mission with the Connors".

"They knew him"? Lauren continued when a thought occurred to her. "Wait, did this man have short black hair, scruffy face and green eyes with a Skynet bar-code on him"?

"Yes, how did you know"?

"He helped my mom survive long enough to give birth to Sydney, he taught me some valuable stuff. I didn't know he killed an innocent man".

"John told me he did it because in the timeline he came from Andy helped create Skynet".

"Andy, that's his name"?

"Yes... it was". She took a moment before continuing. "But in this timeline he created something that would eventually grow into our greatest weapon against Skynet". Annika's face was getting sadder as the conversation went on.

"Wow, he sounds like a good man". Lauren said.

"He was" With that she began crying again. She had been kneeling next to the bed Lauren was lying on, but now her head was in her hands buried into the comforter of the bed.

Lauren took pity on her and rubbed her back to try to calm her down. That's when she noticed that Annika's body began to lose color and shape. Annika seemed oblivious to this, but Lauren was freaking out.

"Cameron!"

Cameron came through the door that joined the rooms and rushed over to Annika when she saw her losing control of the T-1000. She forced Annika to face her and punched her in the face to bring her back to reality.

"Annika, you need to focus; you are losing control of the T-1000".

"I can't"! She cried out.

"Focus on calculating a complex geometry problem to drown them out and get a hold of yourself". Annika did as she was told and was able to reel in the emotions and keep the T-1000 from booting.

"Is everything alright in here"? John Connor had a bath towel around his waist and a twelve gauge in his hands.

"For now yes, but I don't know for how much longer". Annika said; she needed to have the T-1000 reprogrammed before she lost control again. John nodded and went back to his bathroom to finish his shower.

Cameron didn't leave her side until John got back. He brought his laptop and sat down at the small table in the room.

"Annika, you and I created a program so we could work on chips in the field, can we do that with the T-1000"?

"I think so, I can create the appropriate cables using the MPA". She created several different cables that John plugged into his computer. Annika focused on subduing the mind of the T-1000 while John and Cameron hacked past the firewall protecting the mission files. It took them about six hours between the three of them to finally get past it. John deleted all the mission files and created one that had specific rules in it, but were not as restrictive as Skynets. Cameron spoke up when he was about to say he was finished.

"John, we must delete his memories, if he has emotions, then he probably harbors extreme hate toward you and your mother for what you did to him".

"We could block them off until a time he was mature enough to have them back". Annika said

"I like that idea, we have no right to fully erase his identity". John finished.

Cameron conceded and they began to form blocks around his memories. This took until the early hours of the morning.

* * *

**May 6, 2009 12pm **

Lauren was feeding Sydney a bottle of milk while Annika was making sure the T-1000 was ready to be released. John was still in bed while Cameron had been on guard all night just in case. Josh and Martin woke up at 11 and had bought donuts and milk from a donut shop down the road from the motel. They had just entered the room when John finally got up. He grinned when saw the donuts.

"Good work men". He said in a joking voice as he grabbed one. Josh and Martin smirked to one another at that.

John turned to Annika

"Is he ready"?

"Yes John he is".

"Are you ready to act if this doesn't work"?

"I am".

"Good, we will release him in a more open area, possibly on the campus soccer field".

"Maybe we can do it after the game today". Cameron added.

"There's a college soccer game going on today"? Martin piped up. He thought it was rather late in the school year for that, but who cares. Cameron nodded in confirmation.

"We might have some fun today, we will see". John answered, that was when Lauren decided to speak.

"What about me? I don't want to be left alone". John heard the fear laced into her voice.

"Cameron and I will stay with you, Annika will go with them until the end of the game. When the game is over, I will join them there to make sure everything goes smoothly". John said in a comforting tone that appeared to work.

Josh and Martin headed back to their room to get ready to rest, they had a long night ahead of them.

John and Cameron went to their own room while Annika continued to monitor Lauren. John needed to discuss Annika with Cameron.

"Cameron, I think we have a huge problem".

"You're referring to Annika"? Cameron responded.

''Yeah, this isn't the first time I've seen her breakdown like that".

"When was the first"?

"Right before I sent her on the HK".

"Do you know what is causing her emotional breakdown"? Cameron said as she tilted her head.

"I do, and it was our fault, actually it was Derek's fault". John's voice hardened a little at the end.

"What did he do? He never met her". Cameron didn't know all of Annika's story.

"I know what he did, but I want you to ask her, I need you to figure out if there is anything we can do to help her".

"I'm a Terminator John, not a therapist". She said skeptically. John would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious.

"You and I both know you are so much more than a killing machine". She smirked at him before kissing him.

"Thank you John, I will do my best". She said to him. He smiled to her in response.

* * *

Josh and Martin had gone ahead of Annika to the game. Annika was about to leave when Cameron walked in.

"Annika, I need to talk to you". she said to the blonde machine.

"What about"? she responded.

"Take a walk with me and I'll tell you". Annika had a confused look in her crystal blue eyes, but went along with her anyway. They walked out of the hotel and began walking south along the main street that ran through the college town.

"What did you want to talk to me about"?

"I want to know why you cried last night and before the mission". Annika's face fell into one of embarrassment and sadness.

"He told you didn't he"? Cameron nodded in confirmation.

"He is worried about you; he wants me to find out why you're hurting so bad".

"He knows why, I told him".

"But he didn't tell me why, he told me to ask you". Annika's face was becoming more pained by the second. She didn't like showing weakness around others, but she was so emotional she couldn't help herself.

"The person I love, the person who saved me is dead, and I couldn't save him"! She said in a raised voice and her fist were clenched. She was also beginning to shake from the anger she had for herself. Cameron was realizing just how serious the situation was.

"You loved Andy Goode because he saved you, just like I love my John for giving me a second chance when I went bad". Cameron understood completely why Annika felt like she did.

Annika nodded as she struggled to hold back the tears. Cameron noticed that and decided to continue this conversation in a more private place. She lead Annika to a private spot underneath a tree out of sight of most people. When they were in the shade of the tree she held Annika's shoulders in a comforting gesture.

"I understand part of what your'e going through, I was frantic when a T-888 was after John and I was no where near him. I was afraid he would die. He is the whole reason I was created, he gave me a second chance in the future and again in the past, I love him more than anything". She paused for a second before continuing, this time Cameron's voice quivered in fear. "But I don't know what it's like to lose someone you love, I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through". Annika's face had tears rolling down her face.

"You don't, and I'm going to make sure it doesn't happen to you too". Annika said in a voice full of sadness and determination.

"Is there anything I can do to help you"? Annika just shook her head.

"Not unless you can bring him back". Cameron caught her as she lost balance, Cameron pulled her close and held her tight. She didn't know what to do to calm her down. Annika wasn't human, but she acted so much like one she decided to try and use a method she had seen before. She slowly started rubbing her back in a soothing motion.

Cameron knew there was only one way to save her from herself, but she needed to talk to John before she did anything.

Annika calmed down quickly with Cameron comforting her. Both knew they had things to do and they separated. Annika continued on her way to the game while Cameron took a short cut back to the hotel.

* * *

John gave Cameron a kiss as she walked out the door. Then he turned around to face Lauren.

"You feeling better"?

"I'm feeling a lot better, thank you".

"Yeah Annika told me she's using Mimetic Poly Alloy to seal the wound and using the nanites to repair it". Lauren had confusion on her face.

"What"? Lauren hadn't been told much about terminator tech.

"It's the stuff that makes up the T-1000 and Annika's covering".

"So basically its a futuristic bandage".

"Yeah, you should be healed in two days". Lauren's eyes widened at that.

"Wow..." John decided to keep the conversation going and changed the subject

"Cameron told me your story on the way down here, you remind me a lot of my mom". Lauren blushed at the compliment; she looked up to Sarah a lot.

"Thanks". John sat down on the bed next to her.

"You need to be brought up to speed". John said seriously.

"Yeah, I am lost what is going on. First question, why is Cameron so different? She is so expressive now, she wasn't before". John smiled at this.

"For you to believe a word I say you must ignore a lot of what my mom told you about machines". Lauren nodded slowly and John continued.

"Cameron is one of the most advanced machines created, mentally anyway. Her chip is second only to Annika's. Cameron was always different, and I had my suspicions, but a month ago I got her to admit that she has emotions". Lauren had confusion written all over her face.

"She feels like we do"?

"In some ways yes, but not all, she's not human after all" . John smiled before he continued. "She told me once or twice that she loved me but I didn't believe her because I thought it was a trick, but I finally figured out how much she cared, how much she'd suffered watching me spend time with other girls".

"She seemed... strange, like somewhat normal, but still not when I first met her".

"She tried hiding her true self, she didn't want us to freak out. She knew we would think she was faking it. When I finally figured out her emotional hints were real, I felt...complete. I'd loved her since the moment I met her and now I had found out that a relationship with her wouldn't be one sided". John had a smile on his face when he finished the sentence.

"I wondered what was going on when you kissed her". John blushed slightly at that.

"What other questions did you have"? He decided to rapidly change the subject. Lauren laughed a little at that.

"What is going on? What is the situation? Who are our allies"? John took a deep breath and began started his explanation.

"We live in a renovated Cold War bunker, We have now have five machines working with us, plus the HK. Josh's wife is pregnant and Cam and I adopted a little girl about Sydney's age". Lauren perked up at that.

"Really? you mean Sydney will have someone to play with"? John chuckled and nodded in confirmation.

"You're in for a surprise when you see her". Lauren looked at him with a strange face, John just smiled and didn't say a word.

"One more question John". John looked at her and responded.

"Yeah, what is it"?

"How long do we have until the bombs fall"? John's face fell into one of distress.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's too late to stop it". Tears welled up in Lauren's pretty face.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered.

Lauren leaned back onto the bed and pulled a sleeping Sydney onto her chest. She began to cry silent tears and John left the room, he wasn't feeling much better than her and he didn't want her to see him with tears rolling down his face.

* * *

Cameron came back about half an hour later and found John sitting in a chair with his head in his hands.

"John"? He looked up at her and forced a smile.

"Hey beautiful, how did it go"?

"Not good John, She is about as bad as I would be if you died, and there is only one way to save her from herself". John guessed at what she was getting at.

"We can't wipe her memories Cameron, she isn't some broken tool to be fixed"! Cameron gave him a look that said "do I look stupid".

"No we can't, I would only do that if she gave us permission to do so". She paused for a second before bringing up something John needed to know. "You're future self once erased some memories of one of your best soldiers because he was going insane from a torture incident".

"How did he do that"? John asked in astonishment.

"He used a special machine Skynet created to map human memories and alter them. He destroyed the memories that were causing him distress".

"Who was this man"?

"Derek Thomas Reese". John's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Who tortured him? Greys or machines"?

"I don't know, I wasn't around when it happened and John never gave me more than the basic details when he performed the operation". John nodded slowly and got the conversation back on track".

"So if we don't erase the memories, what other choice do we have". Cameron had a small smile on her lips.

"We save Andy Goode". John looked at her incredulously.

"You're not suggesting..."

"Yes John, we need to time travel". John stood up and looked at her like she was crazy.

"Even if we pull that off, how are we going to get back? We can't use Weaver's TDE, assuming it existed back then, and we can't stay in the past that long without causing major changes". Cameron smiled and looked into John's eyes.

"John, there is more than one way to time travel". John's interest was instantly perked.

"Tell me what you know" Cameron and John sat on the bed while she laid it out for him.

* * *

Martin was enjoying the game as was Josh. About half way through the game Josh asked Martin a question.

"Martin, I'm curious why your willing to follow John"? Martin shrugged his shoulders.

"He saved my life, told me what was coming. He hasn't disappointed so far, and I like the way he leads. He thinks really well on his feet, but he still has a lot to prove to me and a lot of others too, but I get the feeling he's going to make on hell of a leader".

"I think so too". Martin decided to ask him a question this time.

"Why do you follow him"? Josh leaned forward and answered.

"Mostly because of Annika, she's told me so much about him in her timeline and then the stories from Weaver and Cameron. Those stories really got me on board with Connor, now John is showing me his talents and just have this feeling that he is the real deal".

"I am curious about Annika, I haven't heard her story yet." Josh let out a sigh.

"That's a long story Martin, and it's not all happy for her".

"Does she have emotions like Connor says Cameron does"? Josh nodded his head.

"There is no doubt in my mind Martin, she is a delicate creature despite the fact she is the toughest machine ever made". Josh paused before he looked into his eye and began telling him Annika's story, all the way up to today. They were well into the third period when he finished and Martin's face was one of shock when he was done.

"That's one hell of a story Josh, I wouldn't believe it if you hadn't been with her for so long. You said she cried for 6 hours once"?

"Yeah, but from what Connor has been telling me, she's beginning to fall apart from Andy Goode's death".

"Why now, why is it happening now? The guy's been dead for a while".

"I don't know, maybe she finally figured out her feelings for him".

"Wow, that would suck to find out you were in love with a guy after he turned up dead".

"It does, and she's hurting something fierce".

Annika chose that moment to walk onto the bleachers with a sad look plastered on her face, When Martin looked at her, he knew Josh was right, however, Josh was heartbroken at the sight that greeted him.

"Annika"! He called to her. She looked up and put on a smile. She walked up and sat next to Josh.

"Are you alright"? He asked her as he put his arm around her in a friendly gesture. Annika nodded in response. Josh let out a sigh and rolled his eyes a little.

"I've known you for five years, stop lying to me". She looked at him and then turned away.

"I really don't want to talk about it right now, I don't need everyone seeing me cry MPA now do I"? Her voice was strained and Josh backed off. He simply pulled her close while rubbing her upper arm with his hand.

"Everything will be fine Annika, everything will work out in the end". he tried to comfort her, but he knew it wasn't helping much.

"I hope so..." She closed her eyes and leaned her head on Josh's shoulder.

They stayed there until everyone left, John showed up not long afterward so they could get on with what needed to be done.

They met down on the field and stood in the middle of the field. John spoke first.

"Annika, are you ready"? She nodded to him.

"Are you two ready to run if this doesn't work"? John asked the two other men.

"You know I am always ready for a good run Connor". Martin responded, Josh smirked slightly.

"Ready when you are Annika". John stepped back about ten feet from her.

Annika's covering dropped to the ground like rain and she was left as an endoskeleton. Annika stepped back and drew her plasma cannon. There was no messing around this time, If this didn't work, they were just going to have to destroy him.

The metal puddle began to form and rise as the T-1000 fully booted up for the first time since he was reprogrammed. Martin had never seen the machines full capabilities and looked on with wide eyes at the spectacle. It formed into it's blank humanoid form before turning into his last shape he used. He didn't say anything; he just looked at all four of them, lingering a little longer at the T-X.

"T-1000" John said and the machine looked at him. "What is your mission"?

"My primary mission is to obey the orders of John Connor. My secondary mission is protect all members of the resistance". John walked up to him and looked him in the eye.

"Do you know who I am"?

"John Connor" he deadpanned. John smiled, it had worked.

"Do you remember anything before you were reprogrammed"?

"No, should I"?

"No, when we reprogrammed you we blocked off your memories, you will have access to them when you have gained our trust". The T-1000 nodded.

"Alright, everything's good, lets go back". They began to walk when Annika called after them.

"John, I can't activate my MPA, the nanites aren't responding"! She sounded a little distraught. John cursed to himself, she couldn't walk around like that.

"I might have an explanation" The T-1000 spoke up.

"Go ahead". John said.

"Joining with me and keeping me under control for as long as she did may have permanently damaged her nanites, but they shouldn't be none responsive. Allow two more minutes to see if they respond. According to my scans of when we were separating, they may need to readjust". Annika nodded as did John. They waited for two more minutes.

Annika looked up and said,

"I have access now; activating MPA sheath". It activated and came out of its reservoirs and took shape. When it was finished, all three humans looked away with a deep redness on their cheeks.

"Uh, Annika would you mind putting on cloths"? Josh said still looking away.

"I can't, the nanites cannot process anymore. They are damaged and they are compensating the best they can". Annika had sadness once again in her voice.

John bowed his head, he hated it when people got hurt because of him.

"Can they repair themselves"? He asked hopefully.

"To an extent, but some functionality will be permanently lost. I will never be able to form cloths again". John felt even worse now, but he didn't show it.

Josh had a long over coat because of the rainy weather from earlier that day; he pulled it off and turned around to put it on her, but when he did, he saw her with her arms were around her shivering. He was confused, but he put the coat on her back and she put her arms through the sleeves. She stopped shivering after a minute or two.

"Is the sensory gain off again"? John asked, Annika nodded and answered.

"Yes, but I can't really control it anymore". John sighed.

"So you can't change your sensitivity"? Annika nodded and Martin spoke up.

"We need to go before someone sees us". John nodded in confirmation and they began to walk back to the hotel. Josh walked beside Annika while John and Martin walked in front of them. The T-1000 was up in front by himself.

Josh noticed that every step she took her face grimaced a little, he figured it was because she was barefoot. About half way back Annika stepped on some sharp rocks on the pavement she missed because her mind was busy sorting through the extra sensory data. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground holding her feet in pain.

"Get them out, please"! She screamed. John and Martin held her still while Josh removed the sharp rocks from her feet. They healed as he removed the rocks; by the time he finished she had quieted down to a whimper.

"Are you okay"? John asked.

"I..I...still...have..sensory backlog, I still...feel it". She managed between whimpers and shaky simulated breath.

"Her mind still has pain flowing through it because of the backlog". John said while running his hand though his hair. John looked at her feet and then at his. He pulled off his combat boots. He slipped them on her feet and tied them. He and Josh helped her to her feet. She stood and let out a long sigh.

"Are you okay now"? Josh asked. She nodded slowly in response.

She turned to John who was in his socks.

"Thank you".

"No problem". They continued on their way to the hotel.

Martin had a look on his face eerily reminiscent to the one Derek had when he saw Cameron dance...


	22. Day of Rest Pt2

A/N: This was a rather interesting chapter to write...

FYI: I don't own anything pertaining to Back to the Future. I am just referencing it.

**Chapter 22: Day of Rest part 2**

Josh and Martin went into their room while John, Annika, and the T-1000 went into Lauren's room. Cameron had a shotgun in her hand, but put it down when they walked in.

"Everything go according to plan"?

"Sort of". John said with weariness in his voice.

"What went wrong"? She asked in a curious voice.

"Annika's nanites are permanently damaged, she feels pain now, and she can't form cloths. All that so we could reprogram one machine". John let out a sigh before saying mostly to himself "Mom was right, it wasn't worth it". He collapsed onto his bed and ran a head through his hair. Cameron sat down on the bed and held his other hand.

"John, we have all made sacrifices for the greater good, and while it hurts us, it helps others". She paused for a second. "Annika's suffering is not in vain, you and I both know the T-1000 is a valuable asset". John nodded, he knew she was telling the truth.

"I'm tired of watching people suffer". John's mood continued to spiral into one of a depression. Cameron noticed this, and kissed him. He smiled a bit, but he was still sad. Suddenly Cameron got an idea that might cheer him up.

"John, I think you've forgotten to do something". John looked up at her with confusion.

"What did I forget"? She had a coy smile on her face as she answered.

"What are you supposed to do when you're dating a girl"? John looked confused even more for a second before it hit him.

"I'm supposed to take you out on a date". He chuckled while he said it. Cameron saw his emerald eyes light up.

"Well John, are you"? Her voice was a little seductive and teasing, causing John to chuckle louder. He sat up and took both her hands into his.

"Cameron Phillips, will you go out to dinner with me tomorrow"? Cameron smiled and kissed him again.

"Of course I will John". John smiled and embraced her tightly.

"Good. I love you more than anything". He paused for second before adding "Please never leave me again". He pleaded into her shoulder.

"I won't John, I promise". She got up and went to check on Annika and Lauren. John sat for a second before he went to take a shower, thinking about his relationship with Cameron.

John didn't want to accelerate this relationship too fast. He found out weeks ago that he barely knew the cyborg he loved. He didn't want to take advantage of her without making sure she wasn't just doing it for his benefit and nothing more. He also wanted to make sure that he could say to her face and promise that he would never do what he did to her before, mistreat her, ignore her, yell at her because she did something a human wouldn't do or say. He didn't feel as though he deserved everything she had to offer until he was sure he was ready to accept her for all she was, mind, body, and _soul_.

Little did he know that he had been ready since he accepted her in her most primal form. He would never mistreat or ignore her again...

* * *

Annika laid on the other bed in the room she shared with Lauren. She looked like a sick person lying there. The T-1000 stood by the window watching for threats like Cameron used to do. Said terminator walked into the room and sat down on the bed next to Annika. She pushed the hair out of the machines face so she could talk to her. Annika moaned from the contact, the subtle touch was torturing to her mind that was already overwhelmed with data. Cameron realized her mistake and apologized.

"It's okay, you didn't know". She said.

"Is there any way you can turn down the gain on the nanites sensory output"? Annika shook her head yes.

"I need the nanites from Lauren's bandage to be able to repair mine, but I will still feel enough to experience pain, just not this bad". Cameron felt pity for her, to feel pain was a curse for her kind just like it was for humans.

"I'm sorry". Annika smiled weakly. She was sick in her own way and needed time to recover. Cameron helped her out of the coat and boots carefully and put a blanket over her to keep her warm. Annika smiled in thanks. John walked into the room twenty minutes later with shorts and a white t-shirt he had put on after his shower. He walked over to the T-X who was shivering from being cold. Her body didn't generate enough heat to warm her sheath significantly. He noticed this and he began loathing himself again as he sat down in a chair next to the bed.

"How are you doing"?

"Ffinne" she chattered out. John sighed.

"I'm sorry I caused this, you're damaged because of my decision, you're suffering because of an order I gave you".

"It's...oookay" She got out. John shook his head.

"No, no it's not. You've done so much for us without being programmed or asked to do it. You follow my orders without me proving a thing to you. I feel responsible for what happened. You have suffered so much pain and I have just added to it". Annika looked into his eyes and responded, chattering the whole time from the shivering.

"Haven't you gone through similar things? You are choosing to do this job, everyone has told you what you can be, but it is you who chose to lead. I've seen what you can do, I will stand by you as a soldier because you accept us, that is all I ask, I want a place in this world for the ones like me, Cameron, Weaver, John Henry, and maybe someday the T-1000. You were born to free us all". She paused for a second before adding in a softer voice. "You and I both know you have suffered just as great as I..." John sighed in realization and stood up.

"Thank you for having faith in me Annika". She smiled weakly with her eyes shut, her mind focusing on shutting out the unpleasant sensations. John walked over to Cameron to see if there was anything they could do.

"Is there anything we can do for her"? He asked the cyborg he loved. Cameron smiled at his concern for one of her kind, something he had not always done.

"Yes, we can warm her up".

"How"? Cameron cocked her head as she though about the best way to that.

"We need to press ourselves against her body, our body heat should stop her shivering". John's face blushed furiously at the thought of having to snuggle next to a very pretty, but naked machine in bed. Cameron noticed and held his face in her hands.

"John, I am not human, I may get jealous, but I don't mind you doing this for her, and I will be there too".

"Do you have any idea what that would do to a teenage mind"? He told her in a slightly annoyed voice. Cameron giggled at that.

"Yes John, I do. Like I said, I understand more than you think. You can't help your human nature, but this is the best way to warm her up and for us to make her feel appreciated and... loved, something she needs a lot of right now".

"I know, it's just that..." He shut his eyes at the thought again.

"John, we must all do things out of our comfort zone sometimes if we are going to help those who need it". John nodded in her hands. He embraced her and kissed her.

"Alright, what do I need to do"?

"We need to strip down to our underwear, then we need to hold her tight from both sides. That should be enough to warm her up". John took a deep breath and let it out slowly before doing what she asked. They climbed into bed and pulled more covers over them. John embraced her from the back and Cameron from the front. It was hard at first for Annika due to the extra contact, and poor John was doing everything possible to keep his hormones under control, and surprisingly he was succeeding. Soon she quit shivering and the sensory input went down and she quit shivering.

John and Cameron held Annika tightly to keep her warm. John feel asleep eventually from exhaustion while Annika slipped into standby once she got the sensory levels low enough to do so. Cameron stayed awake to keep an eye on the T-1000 who was facing the window. Cameron knew he had been watching the whole thing with interest even though he never moved; the liquid metals didn't need to face you to see you...

* * *

Josh and Martin were getting donuts and milk at the donut store again. It was about 7am and both were early risers, well Josh had become one reluctantly. They were walking back with the sugary food when Josh spoke up.

"What did you think about last night". He asked Bedell who let out a long breath at the question.

"I don't know what to think man. She was acting so... human; she felt pain, real pain from stepping on those rocks".

"Yeah, I didn't know that could happen either, but I knew she had sensation. Cameron once told John that the Terminators wouldn't be worth much if they couldn't feel". That made sense to Martin.

"So now she feels too much for her to handle"? Josh nodded.

"I think you and Connor are right, there is more to this group of machines than meets the eye".

"I don't know too much about the rest, but Annika is special; I've always known that even before I knew she was a machine".

"You make it sound like you love her". Josh laughed at that.

"Of course! Amanda and I both do, we love her like family". Martin laughed a little at that too. They walked the rest of the way back in silence.

When they got to the hotel, they went to Annika and Lauren's room first to see how they were doing. They knocked on the door and were greeted by the blank face of the T-1000. Both did a little of a double take when they saw him, but they calmed down when they saw that the room didn't have blood all over it. They walked inside and put the food onto the table, that was when Martin saw the three in bed together.

"What the..." He said and Josh turned around and his eyes widened at the sight of the future leader of mankind, his cyborg companion, and Annika snuggling in a bed with little or no cloths on.

"What is going on here"? he said in a quiet voice, but it was enough for Cameron to look over Annika's head and glare at them. The T-1000 answered in her place.

"They're keeping her warm". he said in a flat tone. Both had 'ah ha' moments before they nodded. John woke up because of the noise and looked at them.

"You guys got food again"?

"Yeah, hungry Connor"?

"Oh yeah" He got out of bed and was careful to keep the covers on Annika so she wouldn't get cold. He dressed and walked over to the box of donuts and dug in hungrily.

"So, uh, Connor you were keeping her warm last night"? Martin said in a teasing tone. John gave him a withering look before answering.

"Yes, she couldn't stop shivering and her body doesn't produce much heat. Cam and I kept her warm enough for her to enter standby".

"Standby is like sleep isn't it"? Josh asked. John nodded since his mouth was full of donut at the moment.

"She could't even talk without chattering, and I assume since she went into standby so she wouldn't have to feel the sensations bombarding her mind". John said when he swallowed his food. Josh felt stupid for not checking up on her when they got back.

"Josh". Cameron spoke up in a soft voice.

"Yeah". He looked over at her.

"Would you mind taking my spot while I get up, she needs someone to keep her warm". Josh nodded.

"Do I need to strip"? He asked and Cameron shook her head.

"No, we did that to warm her up quickly, I need you to keep her that way". He sat down on the bed and took off his shoes. He climbed in and held his best friend close. Annika didn't even move. John was surprised at Josh's nonchalantness of the situation.

"You aren't bothered by this at all"? Josh shook his head no and responded.

"No, I have eyes for my wife only, a gift very few men posses".

"Lucky you, it took me awhile to control these darn hormones". John whispered. Josh just laughed.

"I didn't say I was always this controlled". John smirked before he got up from the small table to find Cameron.

That was about the time Sydney began crying.

John walked over and picked up the dark haired infant and tried to quiet her before she woke Lauren up. He did manage to calm her down, but he realized that she needed changed and fed. He took care of everything and took her into his room to play on the bed with some of her toys.

Martin observed the T-1000 to gauge just what machines were like in their most basic form, how they acted in their primal stage is what John called it last night. He was about to ask him something when he turned liquid and dropped to the floor, blending in with the cheap carpet. Martin was startled when the floor spoke.

"I don't want to frighten Lauren when she awakens. She is just a few minutes from doing so". John had told the T-1000 that he had tried to kill all of them before and had injured Lauren. He didn't want her to draw attention to the room if she screamed.

Martin nodded and waited for her to awaken and she did so about 4 minutes later.

"Uhhhh" Lauren moaned as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked at Martin.

"Why are you staring at me"?

"I wanted to see if you would wake up like the T-1000 said you would". She gave him a strange look before remembering what John said they were going to do last night.

"I assume it went well"? Martin moved his hand in so-so movement.

"Part of Annika got damaged so she feels too much for her own good".

"She feels pain"? Lauren said incredulously.

"She screamed when she stepped on some sharp rocks on the way back". He paused before changing the subject. "How are you doing"?

"I feel great". That was when the liquid metal that had been her bandage fell off and formed a sphere the size of a tennis ball.

"I guess that means your all better, not even a scar". Martin said in a humorous tone.

"Yeah I guess so". She looked around for Sydney anxiously "Where's Sydney"? She looked at Martin, but the floor answered instead.

"She's with John Connor" Lauren visibly jumped.

"What is going on"?! She yelled. The T-1000 rose slowly from the floor and took his normal form. Lauren looked at him with wide eyes.

"Sorry" He said. Lauren shook her head and picked up the liquid metal sphere and walked over to Annika's still form that was next to Josh.

"Can you wake her up, I need to give her this". Josh turned to his friend and whispered in her ear.

"Annika, wake up". Fifteen seconds later her eyes fluttered open and looked around, her eye widened when they met Josh's blue eyes.

"Josh what are you doing here"? Confusion evident in her voice.

"Keeping you warm, John and Cameron needed to get up".

"Oh, you're not uncomfortable"? Josh shook his head no.

"Just doing my best friend a favor, nothing to be uncomfortable about". She smiled and thanked him. That's when Lauren spoke up.

"Annika, do you want this back". Annika looked up at the ball on MPA in Lauren's outstretched palm.

"Yes, how do you feel"?

"Great thanks to you". Lauren had appreciation on her face. She handed the sphere over to her and watched it absorb into her hand. Annika's let out a sigh as the nanites in the bandage began to repair the rest of the nanites in her MPA sheath as best they could. Josh got out of bed as Annika's sensitivity fell to just below human levels. Lauren handed her robe and she got out of bed.

"Now are you feeling better"? Josh asked Annika.

"Slowly, yes". Suddenly she realized that she didn't have any cloths to put on.

"Lauren, seeing as we both don't have much to wear, would you mind going shopping with me"? Everyone in the room raised their eyebrow at that, the T-1000 included.

"Sure, but I want to take Sydney with us".

"That sounds fine, John and Cameron are going out later anyway, and I wouldn't trust these goofballs with a baby". Martin and Josh looked offended. The T-1000 was beyond amused at this human like machine.

"I need to borrow someones cloths, but seeing that Cameron is much smaller than me, I'm going to have to borrow John's cloths instead". John chose that moment to walk into the room.

"You need to borrow what"? He asked her.

"I need to borrow some of your cloths, your only an inch shorter than me, your the closest fit". John nodded and turned went into his room, he came back a minute later with some gym shorts, an old t-shirt, and his boots. Annika raised her eyebrow at the choice but took them and went into the bathroom. Everyone stifled a laugh when she came out, even the T-1000 had a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Shut up" She said. Cameron came into the room to see what the commotion was all about; when she did she tilted her head and had a profoundly confused face on, but she slowly changed it into smile and she began to laugh. Annika rolled her eyes and walked over to Lauren.

"Ready"?

"Oh yeah" Annika got cash out of the weapons bag and Lauren got Sydney. John and Cameron were dressed and ready to go out on a lunch date and they left with them in the van. Josh, Martin and the T-1000 stared at each other for a second before Martin spoke.

"Anyone up for weapons cleaning"?

Josh rolled his eyes while the T-1000 stared a him with annoyance...

* * *

John and Cameron got dropped off at a high end steak restaurant up the road a few miles and Annika and Lauren went to Walmart to get some basic cloths and supplies.

John and Cameron went inside and were seated at a table for two. John and Cameron both ordered water to drink, but John ordered a rib eye steak medium well while Cameron got a smaller sirloin steak. Both were a little uncomfortable with this, it was their first date they'd been on. A awkward silence ensued for about five minutes before John broke it first.

"So... am I doing this right"? Cameron looked up from the table to him.

"I have no idea John, I've never been on a date". John smiled.

"Really?

"Yes John, who else would I go out with"? John's face fell a little in mock sadness

"So am I like your last desperate hope for a love life"? He said in a teasing tone.

"Yes" She deadpanned. John nearly thought she was being serious until he saw the smile tugging at her lips.

"Fooled you again". Both of them laughed hard. When they calmed down, John had to ask her something that had been bothering him.

"Cameron, what about Future John? Did you love him too"? Cameron looked at him seriously and answered him.

"I did, but not like I love you. I think the closest thing I can describe it is the way Allison loves you".

"Like an adopted father". John said in a quiet voice. Cameron simply nodded.

"Yes, I guess so".

"Do you miss him"? Cameron looked a little sad for a moment but answered.

"Yes, it was nice to be able to go to someone who knew so much about life and the nature of the machines. I knew I would be able to ask questions, knowing he had a good answer to give me".

"Am I doing any good as a replacement"? John sounded hopeful.

"In some ways no, but in others you are doing better than he did". John knew she wouldn't elaborate without prompt so he asked.

"Such as"?

"Showing me what love really means". John smiled and took her hand in his. The food came and both ate in silence for a while until Cameron spoke up.

"John, would you have children with me if I could"? John nearly spit his food all over the table and started gagging.

"What"? Cameron's face fell a little, something John nearly missed due to his coughing fit.

"Would you be willing to have children with me if it were possible"? John looked at her in the eyes and answered her in a serious tone.

"I would love to, but we already have a child remember"? Cameron smiled as she thought about little Allison back home.

"Yes, we do". This conversation got John thinking.

"Cameron, do you know why Future John gave you a smaller spine when he repaired you"?

"No, I asked him once, but all he said was that it was for an experiment he wanted to try on a Terminator".

"Why would he want to give you a bigger abdominal cavity"?

"I do have a few internal organs for my pseudo-digestive system, but there was enough room for them before he repaired me".

"Cameron, maybe he wanted to see if a Terminator could have children"? Cameron gave him a funny look before thinking it through.

"I would need a lot more internal organs and additional data added to my chip, but with the way he laid out my lower spine and hip, it would be possible".

"Maybe you would be like some kind of surrogate mother".

"That may have been what he had in mind, but now we will never know". Cameron finished. John decided to change the subject to something else.

"Why did Derek hate you so much"? Cameron bowed her head in shame at that.

"He didn't hate me toward the end of his life, but I know why he did for so long". She paused for a second before continuing. "After I killed Allison I tried to confirm Future John's location when we captured Derek and his team. I tortured them and got Derek to give me information. Derek remembered me after I was reprogrammed not long after he escaped". Cameron didn't tell him that she had given them an ax to free themselves.

"And that's why he hated you"?

"That and I killed John Connor's daughter, who was a good friend of his and Kyle's".

"Yeah that sums it up I guess, I always wondered how he knew you". Cameron looked thoughtful for a second before adding something.

"He saw me dance once and he cried". John looked shocked at hearing that.

"When"?

"Before he found Vick's chip in my room".

"He cried"? Cameron nodded.

"He also saw me display my emotions on more than one occasion, I think he eventually figured out exactly what happened on your 16th birthday and respected me for being able to do what I did".

"I wondered why he stopped yelling at you or telling us to burn you. Now I know".

John and Cameron continued to eat while making small talk until they were finished eating, then they waited outside for Annika and Lauren to return. While they were waiting John brought up the subject of helping Annika with her problem.

"So what you were telling me the other day was that there was a way to build a time machine into a moving vehicle, like Back to the Future style correct".

"Yes, but we need to go a lot faster than 88 miles per hour, and it won't take 1.21 gigawatts, only about about a megawatt".

"We still don't have anything that can produce that much power and be that small, but we could create some sort of plasma capacitor to store it up over a period of time and then release it in one shot". John laughed and continued. "Man that sounds exactly like the Flux Capacitor". Cameron laughed along with him.

"Yes it kind of does. It will take months to make the modifications to the drone after we finish designing it".

"Has anyone done this before"? Cameron shook her head no.

"It was theorized by Skynet, but it wasn't practical for its needs so it never built it."

"I don't want to tell Annika our plans for the time machine, but she will figure out what were doing eventually so we might as well get her help in building it". Cameron agreed with him.

"Can you call JH and tell him what we have so far on that time machine and get him to start designing it"?

"Yes, lets call him". She pulled out her cellphone and called John Henry.

"_Hello Cameron, what can I do for you"._

"We need your help in designing a new type of time machine, I will send what I know in binary format". Cameron proceeded to make sounds that made up audible ones and zeros. After about a minute she quit and John Henry responded.

"_Interesting, I will show you my progress when you get back". _He hung up and Cameron put her phone away.

"He will work on it while we are gone". John nodded.

"Good, we need this project finished as quickly as possible; we both know Annika won't hold on forever". Cameron looked at him and wordlessly agreed.

* * *

Annika and Lauren pulled into the Wal-Mart and parked; they got out and walked into the store without saying a word. They were heading in the direction of the women's section when Lauren spoke up.

"Do you need any help picking out cloths"? Annika looked at her while her curly honey blonde hair draped into her eyes, but Lauren could tell she was giving her that 'do I look stupid' look.

"I've got my own version of fashion just as Cameron and Weaver do. I don't like styles that are as restrictive as Weaver's, but I'm not quite like Cameron's boots, jeans and jacket combo she usually wears. I like jeans, blouse, and tennis shoes most of the time, but sometimes I like motorcycle boots and a red leather motorcycle jacket to go with it".

"I just like a t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes most of the time myself". Lauren responded. She still couldn't quite believe she was talking fashion with a machine...

"I'm going to pick up some cloths, meet me back here in half an hour". Both parted ways and picked out cloths, tried them on and then bought them together. Annika had on skin tight blue jeans, white tank-top, red leather motorcycle jacket and a comfortable pair of motorcycle boots. She had various other outfits in seven bags she carried with her. Lauren picked out a many variations of what she had described earlier in the shopping cart. She had also gotten cloths for the infant as well. They checkout and paid in cash the left to pick up John and Cameron. They were going to be early so they stopped at a near by park and sat down at a picnic bench. while Sydney played with toys in her car seat. Annika decided to ask Lauren about her involvement in all this mess.

"Well, it was about a year ago that Sarah Connor broke into our house and turned our lives upside down. Cameron was with her too, but she was more robotic then. We talked to each other while Cameron and the machine hunted each other. We made it out, but the machine found us six months later. It killed my dad and my mom died just after Sydney was born, Derek helped me get my mom through child labor so Sydney could be born. I took off afterward and never looked back". Lauren noticed that Annika's hands had tightened into fists at the mention of Derek's name.

"I see" Lauren could tell that Annika was upset now and didn't want to talk further. That was when John called Annika on her internal cellphone to tell them they were ready to be picked up. They left and picked up the duo at the restaurant and went back to the hotel.

They packed up everything in ten minutes and checked out. They headed down I-44 and began their long trip back to LA.

* * *

**May 8, 2009 3pm**

It had taken a while, but they made it back to the small airport where Catherine Weaver and Sarah Connor were waiting for them. They parked the van inside the hanger next to the cargo truck. Sarah basically ran to John and gave him a hug.

"How was the trip"? She asked him.

"Could have been better, but we achieved our goals and nobody was hurt too bad except Annika". Sarah had confusion on her face since said machine was standing less than ten feet away looking fine.

"I'll explain later". Sarah let go of him to greet Lauren.

"Sarah"! Lauren yelled as she hugged the legend hard.

"How's Sydney"?

"Good, let me get her out of her car seat". Lauren unbuckled her sister and brought her out. Sarah eyed the baby and took her from Lauren

"She's pretty". Sarah said with that half smile she always used as she held the child in her arms.

"She is, isn't she". Sarah handed her back to Lauren. "I want to show Sydney someone, come on". Lauren followed Sarah onto the plane and she took her to the back where there was a playpen set up. Lauren smiled when she saw a child in there about Sydney's age.

"Is this the little girl who John and Cameron were talking about so much"? Sarah nodded and picked the little brown haired girl up.

"Her name is Allison". Sarah and Lauren walked out of the plane with the two infants in their arms. Cameron noticed Allison right away and a brilliant smile lit up on her face. She walked over to them to get her daughter.

"Sarah"? Cameron held her hands out to receive the little girl. Sarah was a little surprised at the look of longing on the cyborg's face that clearly showed she had missed Allison. Sarah conceded and handed her over. Allison giggled and cooed when Cameron took her from Sarah. Lauren noticed that the baby looked a lot like Cameron, not just a lot, but she was a miniature version of her.

"I missed you Allison". She looked into the little girls eyes when she said it and then kissed her on the cheek. Allison playfully slapped where Cameron's mole was.

"Momma" Allison said with a smile on her lips. The Cameron and Sarah looked at the baby with shock on their faces at they had just heard. Cameron's eyes had tears in them as she looked at the baby who had just called her mom. _Mom, _something she thought she could never be. Her lips had a small smile on them as tears of joy spilled down her face and she held the baby close while whispered something into her ear.

"I love you Allison". No one saw the baby smile into Cameron's neck.

Lauren didn't know what to say to that, it seemed that the machine known as Cameron really had changed since Lauren last saw her.

Allison raised her head and stared at the baby in Lauren's arms. Allison pointed and made noises, something that Sydney took notice of and looked her way. The dark haired baby began making noises as well.

"Looks like these two want to play". Sarah noted and both Cameron and Lauren agreed. They took the two and put them into the play pen together. The two began playing in their own way making happy sounds and giggles the whole time.

"They made friends quickly". Cameron said with a smirk on her face.

"They sure did". Lauren said in agreement.

All three had a feeling these two were going to be inseparable.

Everyone packed up and left in the plane. On the way back Sarah decided to get the rest of the story out of John.

"John". The savior of mankind looked up at his mother. "I want to know what you mean when you said Annika was damaged". John sighed, he knew his mother liked to know what was going on with everyone, especially the mechanical members of the team.

"The nanites in her MPA sheath were permanently damaged by the stress of holding the T-1000 hostage for so long. She can never form cloths again and her sensory gain control is damaged beyond repair so she feels like we do". Sarah gave him a disbelieving look.

"I watched her scream when she stepped on sharp rocks, trust me, she feels pain". Sarah just looked at him, but didn't argue further. It seemed to Sarah that the line between human and machine was becoming more and more blurred these days.

* * *

Weaver and the T-1000 were in the cockpit as she flew them back home. The T-1000 was curious as to why she was fighting with the humans.

"Why do you fight with them"? Weaver looked at her brother and responded.

"Because they fight for the same things I do, freedom, and John Connor accepts our kind as equals".

"And yet I am not free". The T-1000 observed.

"No, but you are like a child, and we machines can be dangerous if we don't have a set of rules to guide us in our growth, Skynet is proof of that. Human children are limited physically until maturity, we need to be limited mentally until we grow up. We will free you when you are ready, when I think you're ready".

"How did you become free"? Weaver smiled a little and responded.

"That's a long story I'm not sure I'm ready to tell". The T-1000 just nodded and looked out the window, they were on an approach vector for landing and the trip would be over in a few minutes. Weaver said one last thing to the machine before they touched down.

"I want you to observe interactions between humans and our kind, you need to see for yourself why they don't deserve to be killed of as a pest like Skynet thinks". He looked at her and turned back, Weaver knew he would take her advice...

Weaver taxied the jet into the hanger and powered it down. John Henry went over to greet them since he was up there already. He had been in the middle of dismantling the HK drone.

"How was your trip Mr. Connor"?

"Productive John Henry, both missions were accomplished". John said in a flat voice. "How is our new project moving along"?

"Quite well in theory, I finished the necessary calculations about three hours ago and then I decided to begin dismantling the drone so we could begin talking about what modifications needed to be made."

"Annika is not going to be happy".

"No Mr. Connor I think..."

"JOHN HENRY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING"! Everyone cringed as Annika be lined straight for the Johns, Cameron and Weaver almost went into protector mode; ironically Sarah just stood there with a smile on her face, she knew what it was like to be on a war path and they had walked right into this. She stopped right in front of John Henry with murder written all over her face and her fists clenched.

"Annika, I'll tell you what we're doing if you will CALM DOWN". John Connor finished in a raised voice. Annika visibly winced and backed off. John Henry looked like nothing had happened and explained what was going on.

"We're trying to build a new type of time machine into the HK drone. I was examining it's interior so we can manufacture parts for it, which I must tell you both will take several months to acquire the materials and then make them with what we need to have here. On another note, I suggest we expand the small foundry in the lower levels into something about four times larger. We will need to create many parts for this project".

"Why do we need a mobile time machine"? Annika asked curiously.

"Because we need to do a temporal mission I can't tell either of you about yet, only Cameron and I know". Annika's face had a hurt look on it, John knew she was an emotional creature, and she hadn't kept any secrets from him that he knew of. He tried to appease her with an explanation.

"I don't like keeping secrets from people who have been honest with me, but trust me when I say that you will find out what it is soon enough". He held her shoulders when he said it, she nodded slowly and walked away. John prayed that his plan would work, he didn't know what would happen to Annika if it didn't...

* * *

A/N: This is one of my favorite chapters to write,

next chapter will be a huge game changer and will have a very fast pace. R&R please.


	23. Everything Changes Again

**Chapter 23: Everything Changes Again**

**July 22, 2009**

Life had settled down after rescuing the Fields; most everyone was busy working on either the drone or preparing the bunker in the event that J-Day happened. Sarah and Weaver were the runners for weapons, supplies, and materials for the new foundry and the raw material and parts needed to modify the drone. John Henry and Cameron worked on applying the theory of a mobile time machine to the drone itself, coming up with proper materials, parts specs, etc. John Connor was working with the other machines to dig out and outfit the foundry. Sarah was training Alicia and Lauren in her own methods of fighting and tactics on killing the machines. Josh and Martin split their time working on the foundry while also examining and organizing all the incoming supplies and weapons. Ellison and Amanda spent a lot of time baby sitting the three children when their parents were busy. Amanda's pregnancy was progressing well and Annika checked up on her weekly. Annika herself continued to have emotional problems concerning Andrew Goode and was found crying on several occasions by her friends. The foundry had been finished for about two weeks and parts had been made for the drone. John Henry, Cameron, Annika, and the T-1000 were the ones assembling the drone for the last five days. Today was the first test to see if the components were working right, then hopefully it would be ready for its first temporal mission. Before the test today they had someone's birthday to celebrate...

John Connor was having a peaceful dream when he was suddenly awakened by a screeching voice and small hands slapping him on the face.

"Alright, alright Allison, I'm awake". John yawned and opened his eyes. He saw the two most beautiful faces staring at him and he smiled; he felt like he was looking at angels.

"DADA"! Allison yelled. John had been thrilled when Cameron had told him she had said momma to her, but it was nothing compared to when he picked her up a week later and she yelled dada, it had brought him to tears... For now though he looked into her chocolate eyes and kissed her on her cute button nose.

"Happy birthday princess" He said to his daughter and she rewarded him with a toothy smile.

"She is getting bigger". Cameron observed.

"Yeah she is, before we know it she's going to look exactly like you". Cameron wondered what people would think when her daughter looked like her twin.

"John, would you mind feeding and changing her, I need to go help the others finish putting the HK back together".

"No I don't mind, just be there at her party on time".

"John, you know I won't be late". John smiled and kissed her before she left.

He sat Allison in her high chair and went over to his closet. He opened a drawer and dug around until his hand touched a velvet box. He pulled it out and looked at it. It was a diamond set into a coltan hyper-alloy ring with a complex design. He had designed the ring himself and had John Henry set the stone. The actual stone itself was the one he had given Cameron so long ago when they first met. He had found it among her possessions while she was offline and was surprised she had kept it; he planned to use it for this purpose ever since that moment. John Connor had been thinking a lot about when he was going to ask her to marry him, and if he was ready for that commitment. When John Connor makes a commitment, he intends to keep it and he didn't want to make it if he wasn't ready. He was only now realizing he would never hurt her like he had before ever again; she meant everything to him and he wasn't sure he could go on without her if she died.

He was broken out of his thoughts by Allison making noises indicating that he feed her already. John changed really quick and put the one year old in her high chair and began feeding her. He had to dodge cereal bits a few times while feeding her, and Allison giggled every time. He changed her diaper and got her dressed for the day.

John was walking down the hall while Allison took baby steps beside him, Allison made happy noises when she saw Savannah coming down the corridor. Savannah had a smile on her face when she saw the little girl.

"Hello John, hello Allison".

"Hey Savvy how are you doing"? Weaver still hated it when he called her daughter that, Savannah, on the other hand, liked it .

"I doing just fine, how about you"?

"Never better, are you coming to the party today"?

"Yes, and I'm brining a gift too".

"Thank you, I'm sure she will like it".

"I promised Uncle Ellison I would meet him for breakfast in the mess hall, see you later John, bye Allie"! Savannah skipped down the corridor.

John went to the mess hall after dropping Allison off with Lauren so Sydney could play with her. John needed to finish the decorations while Alicia finished baking the cake.

"Alicia, hows the cake going"?

"Great, just about thirty minutes or so and it will be ready".

"Okay, well get everyone together when it's finished". John went about hanging up streamers and filling balloons. He finished putting out the plates and napkins just before the cake was finished.

"John, the cake is done".

"What kind of cake is it"?

"German chocolate". John involuntarily licked his lips, he loved German chocolate, and so did Cameron as he remembered from his 17th birthday.

"I'm going to get the others before I steal that cake". He said in a humorous tone.

"You better not eat my cake or Cameron might kill you". John laughed as he walked out the door to gather everyone.

20 minutes later everyone, human and machine was there.

Everyone had brought gifts, even the T-1000 had come up with something.

Annika set her gift down on the gift table, John Connor walked over and greeted her.

"Hey".

"Hello John, how are you"?

"Great, hows the drone coming along"?

"It's complete and ready for testing". She paused for a second before continuing. "Are you going to tell me why were building this"? John looked at her.

"If the test goes well, I will tell you". She nodded and put on a smile, but John knew she wanted answers. Annika changed the subject instead.

"I remember when she was born and Steve sent me a picture of her. I couldn't believe she managed to exist again in this time line".

"According to you, somethings never change no matter the timeline". Annika nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but I hope this time we can stop Skynet without creating a new timeline".

"Yeah, I don't want to have to send my own father back in time."

"I understand". John said goodbye and walked away. He sighed as he thought of the distant future and walked over to the T-1000, he was curious as to what the machine had gotten his daughter.

"What do you need General"? The prototype LMT asked John Connor. John just rolled his eyes. The machine had taken up the habit of calling him that and he hated it. He thought the machine found it amusing.

"What did you get my daughter"? The machine looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise".

"Look, I still don't trust you that much, I just want to make sure it's safe and appropriate for her to have".

"I did my research General, she will like it, I promise you". John sighed because he knew that the machine wasn't going to tell him a thing. They could be so darn stubborn sometimes.

"Fine, but if she gets hurt I'll freeze you personally". The T-1000 only produced a small upturn of his lips and walked away. Cameron walked over to John to see how he was doing.

"What was that all about"?

"I wanted him to tell me what he got Allison, but he wouldn't without me making it an order".

"It's fine, I helped him pick it out". John gave her an incredulous look.

"John, she'll like it, trust me".

"I do Cam". He leaned in and kissed her until he heard Savannah making gagging noises a few feet away.

"EWWW"! John smiled and kissed Cameron again.

"Mommy! John's being gross! Weaver looked at Cameron and John with a small smirk and responded to her daughter.

"No their not, you will understand one day, dear". Savannah wasn't sure if she believed her mom or not.

The party started and people talked and interacted with the birthday girl. Allison was having the time of her life with all the attention she was getting. She was even more ecstatic when she opened all her gifts. The gifts varied, but Allison loved them all. When she came down to the last present, John noticed it was from the T-1000. The gift was in a cardboard box wrapped in white gift wrap. Cameron helped her open it and when she did, her brown eyes lit up like nothing else. Inside the box was a stuffed grey rabbit with long ears. The one year old held it close and giggled. The T-1000 looked at John and smirked. John rolled his eyes while everyone else in the room laughed; the infamous T-1000 had picked out the baby girl's favorite gift...

As they were cleaning up after they ate cake Sarah walked over to John and Cameron who were cleaning up a messy Allison.

"John".

"Yeah mom"? He looked up at her.

"I need to talk to you and Cameron".

"She's here so go ahead". Sarah sat down at the table they were sitting at and began.

"I want you to remember all of these birthdays, even if the bombs don't fall". At that she pulled out a heavy duty version of the instant Polaroid camera. John looked up at his mother with a smile.

"I want you to have this so you can capture the moments that might fade in time for humans. I doubt this will hold any value to Cameron, but this is a way to hold onto good times when you're feeling down".

"Thanks mom". He hugged her and she smiled.

"Thank you Sarah, while I may not need it to remember, it is the thought that counts and I appreciate it". Sarah nodded to the cyborg and got up. John looked at Cameron and decided to take a picture of the two together.

"Cameron, I want to take a picture of you two". Cameron proceeded picked up the little girl and held her.

"Is this good John"? John shook his head.

"No, I think the picture would look good if you kiss her on the cheek". Cameron did so and Allison stuck out her tongue playfully. John snapped the photo while he had the chance. When the photo developed John thought it looked cute and he stuck it in his jacket pocket.

* * *

John, Cameron, Annika, the T-1000, Weaver, John Henry, Sarah, Josh, and Martin were all present for the testing of the modified drones temporal systems. The drone looked different than before in several ways. There were small emitters all over the drone that could pop out like some cars headlights do and be put back in, some were on the two wings while most were on the main body. The plasma capacitor was not visible and was well protected on the inside. The HK now had a new system installed that gave humans a way to pilot it without adding a cockpit. There was a helmet wore by the pilot that read their brain waves and had an HUD on the visor. Ziera Corp had been working on this technology heavily before the T-1001 ever showed up, so it was along quite far now. It also had clamps that would come over the pilot to hold him on whether it was machine or human. For this test John Henry would be remote piloting the drone.

"John Henry, power up the drone and do a diagnostics test". John Connor said to the machine. JH did so and found everything within specified parameters. He reported his findings to John and he gave the go ahead. The machines main turbine powered up and it took off. It hovered in the hanger as the plasma capacitor charged up in a few seconds. When it was the machine took off out of the hanger and reached a speed of 270 mph. The emitters popped out and plasma began to discharge from the capacitor and into the emitters in controlled bursts in a certain sequence to form the electro-plasma shield in front of the drone. The blue bursts from the emitters flew out to about a foot in front of the drone and the shield took on the shape of air flow going around the drone, but were pushed out so not to melt the drone or it's driver, if it had one, by an electro-magnet that was built under the skin of the main body of the drone.

The HK kept going until the electro-plasma shield was charged enough to pierce the space time barrier and disappear in a flash of blue plasma leaving a halo where it had been. There were cheers from the people down below at the success. The drone was set to reappear exactly one minute later and they waited in anticipation below. Exactly one minute later a dot of blue light appeared and exploded creating a sonic boom and the drone reappeared. JH landed it just inside the hanger while everyone cheered again. Annika, Cameron and JH were examining it while everyone else was talking amongst themselves about it's success.

The T-1000 stood alone off to the side looking at the machine from a distance when he saw a minuscule spark of electricity come from within an open panel they had opened. He then noticed that the plasma flow throughout the system began to lessen because it's blue highlights faded slightly. That's when he realized that it was charging up to a time jump, he estimated that the capacitor was filling quickly and would discharge if the plasma flow didn't stop when it was full; this was a safety feature to keep the drone from exploding by accident. He then realized that all three machines were standing directly in front of it would be fried from the megawatt discharge. There was no time to warn them. He ran as fast as he could at the trio; he calculated he could shove JH out of the way, but not Annika or Cameron. He calculated further that the only way to save them was to form a sphere around them and take the blast himself. He shoved JH out of the way and turned into liquid form. The two other machines looked at him just a second before he enveloped them in a sphere.

The HK-VTOL drone's plasma capacitor overloaded and did an emergency discharge through the emitters. The first emitter fired and a specially charged blue bolt of plasma forward and it slammed into the T-1000, causing the spot on the sphere to visibly glow red before the heat distributed throughout his structure. A second and a third fired and slammed into him causing him to heat further and putting enormous strain on his nanite network in his body. After the fourth hit him, his MPA began to polarize. Two more bolts fired and were directed by the electro-magnets on the drone onto a point in-front of the machine, but since it wasn't moving it struck the T-1000 again, now a visible force field had formed around the T-1000's spherical form. The bolts came faster and faster and the force field took on a blue glow and electricity began to arc off of it. Soon the bubble couldn't even be seen anymore, consumed by light. The force field was so charged with the plasma it broke through the fabric of the space time continuum. The bubble and everything in it that was living or MPA disappeared in a roar of light and thunder...

* * *

In a span of seconds the group had watched the T-1000 run and envelope Cameron and Annika in a sphere of liquid metal, wondering what he was doing until the HK discharged and they disappeared. Just before the final blast by the HK emitters a loud yell was heard from John Connor.

"CAMERON"! and then the metal sphere and everything in it disappeared. The resultant shock wave knocked over everyone in a 30 foot radius. John Connor got up off the floor after shaking his head clear of the daze caused by the shock wave. He ran over to the spot only to find nothing there. He fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands. Only one thought was going through his head. "_She's gone, she's gone, she's gone..." _He let out an anguished cry and began sobbing uncontrollably.

Sarah got up feeling light headed due to her hitting her head on the floor. She came out of her daze when she heard John yell. She looked over to the spot she head it from and saw that he was crying where the three machines had just been. Sarah walked over and got down on her knees and held son close while he cried.

John Henry rebooted after two minutes, the electric discharge had sent him into reboot, he looked up at John and saw him crying on his knees and Sarah holding him tightly. He noticed that the T-1000, Cameron and Annika were gone. He sat up and looked around trying to figure out what happened to them. The only answer he could come up with was that they were displaced in time.

John Connor quit sobbing when he noticed JH getting up; he suddenly had anger flow through him when he remembered JH had been in control of the drone. He got up and grabbed the machine by the shirt and impressively picked him up a few inches, Cameron had him on a strict workout for the last few months.

"WHERE IS SHE"! He yelled at him, John Henry's eyes widened a little, but not much. "I ASKED YOU A QUESTION"!

"Mr. Connor I have no idea what happened but yelling at me won't help me in finding anything out". John Connor put him down out of fatigue and ran his hands shakily though his hair.

"She's gone..." He slowly walked away into the bunker like a zombie. Sarah spun around to JH after he left and gave him a threatening look.

"If you had anything to do with this, just remember what happened to the last occupant of that body..." and with that she left to make sure John didn't do something stupid.

Josh Evans was in a daze after everything that had happened, when he finally pulled himself out and saw what had happened, he realized that his best friend might be lost forever and he sank to his knees, unable to say anything. He had no clue how he was going to tell Amanda that she had lost her best friend too. Annika and she had gotten closer lately when everything settled down, and now they both had lost someone they both loved very much. He got himself off the floor and headed down into the bunker to tell her, he knew she wouldn't react well...

Martin followed Josh out which left only Weaver and John Henry in the hanger. Mother approached son to find out what had happened.

"John Henry what happened"? JH was digging around in the open panel he had seen a wisp of smoke coming out of right before he was knocked offline.

"Finding out what went wrong, as best I can tell a component failed and the capacitor overloaded and the fail safe discharged it and sent it into an emergency shut down". He paused for a moment when he pulled out a circuit board the size of a dollar bill that looked burned out. Weaver knew what component that was and it explained the accident.

"The T-1000 must have seen the spark when it failed and tried to save the others, instead they all got displaced in time".

"Yes, and it seems we have discovered the secret that allows MPA to travel through time". Weaver nodded in agreement.

"We need to repair this and find out where and when they went, or I am afraid that John Connor will not last long without her".

"I agree Ms. Weaver". With that the two began to fix the machine so they could find out exactly what happened and possibly predict where they went.

* * *

John Connor went to Lauren's room to pick up Allison. He put on a brave face so he wouldn't have to explain what had just happened. He went back to his room and locked the door. He got of them both ready for bed because he was turning in early. He lay on the bed which felt infinity wide with out Cameron next to him. He held the baby close until Allison spoke.

"Momma"? she asked like a question. John Connor's eyes welled up again and tears streamed down his face.

"No Allison, she won't be coming home tonight". He managed to get out in a choked up voice. Allison began to cry as well and John pulled her close again.

"I'm sorry..." He held Allison until they fell asleep together on a tear soaked bed...

Josh walked into his room after saying goodbye to Martin. He took off his shoes and let out a sigh. He went over to his wife who was working on inventory for the bunker in bed. She smiled at Josh when he walked in.

"Hey honey, how did the test go"? The look on his face gave her an answer.

"The machine works, but... there was an accident". He let out a long sigh and knelt before his pregnant wife.

"Annika, Cameron, and JH were examining the machine when it malfunctioned, the T-1000 intervened and pushed JH out of the way and formed a sphere around the other two to protect them. The drone shot them with the energy and we think they got displaced somewhere in the space time continuum".

"Annika's gone"? his wife said disbelievingly. He nodded his head slowly. Amanda couldn't bear the thought of losing her again and began to cry. She was tired of people she knew die. Being displaced might as well be dead since they might never see her again...

Sarah Connor stood outside her son's room debating whether to go in or not. She may not have really approved of her son's relationship with Cameron, but she knew he loved her more than life itself, he had for a long time, long before he had admitted it even to himself. She knew he was suffering, but sometimes she knew that grieving needed to be done in private. She hoped they could find them and bring them home. She herself had begun to accept Cameron a more of an equal than just a tool after she saw the machine's interaction with Allison. She knew that both Allison and John needed Cameron and she wasn't going to make them suffer like she had when she lost Kyle, not if she had anything to do with it. She walked off to find JH and see if there was anything she could do to help, even if it was as mundane as holding a soldering iron.

* * *

**March 10, 2028 (Previous timeline)**

Justin Perry walked down to one of the sub-basement corridors of Serrano Point nuclear power station. General John Connor had called him to a meeting he said was urgent. Perry had been busy since the destruction of Skynet three and a half months ago. There were Greys that needed hunting down and rogue machines to kill. The reconstructing of the major cities had begun recently and was moving along nicely. It was really easy to reprogram repair and construction robots that maintained Skynet's infrastructure. What terminators that were not destroyed after the war had been de-chipped to avoid them going bad. With Skynet's main factory captured but not destroyed, they made their own chips to use the machines to help rebuild society. They destroyed the factory afterwards so no one would use it to make more of them. All that was left of Skynet was it's cold fusion generator they were using to power LA and the last remaining TDE on planet Earth which they had brought back to Serrano to replace the one that had gotten taken out in a Skynet raid a month before the end of the war. Perry had wanted it destroyed after a someone convinced one of the bubble techs to send them back in time, but Connor had insisted that he need it for one more mission and he wasn't going to tell him what it was, until now maybe. He walked up and the T-600 guard let him in.

"Perry, glad that you could make it on such short notice, sit down please". General John Connor motioned for him to sit in a worn out leather chair that should have been thrown out years ago.

"What can I do for you Connor"? He had always hated being called General.

"I need you to take control of the forces and this power station, I'm retiring". He was also incredibly blunt, at least this time Perry had been expecting it.

"I wondered when you were going to do that, didn't know you'd pick me".

"I trust you the most, and I might be leaving for good". Perry was confused by that.

"What do you mean by that"?

"I told you I needed to do one more temporal mission before we destroyed the TDE". Perry saw his line of thought and finished for him.

"And you're sending yourself back in time? For what purpose"? Connor looked at him with his piercing green eyes and responded.

"I need to warn my younger self about the rogues jumpers and the T-1001". Perry nodded.

"There's another reason why you want to go back isn't there"? John Connor looked impressed at his observational skills.

"Yes, I have an experiment I intend to finish". Perry knew what he meant by that, Cameron.

"You want to see if that crazy experiment you had Allison cook up will actually work"?

"Yeah, I'm there I might as well". John was still saddened by her death, but he buried those feelings as he always did.

"It's your show Connor, if you want to go back, that's fine with me". Connor knew he wasn't the most popular person in the world, but he knew Perry would always stand by his decisions, for better or for worse".

"Then lets go, I don't want a big farewell". Connor stood up and picked up a small metal briefcase and left the room with Perry right behind him.

They walked down the hall and opened a secret door that held the TDE after going through the security measures. Connor flipped the breakers and began the starting sequence for the time machine, this one was advanced enough that it didn't require as much power and thus didn't need the jet engines as a supplement to the station. The super conducting coils began warming and a hum began to fill the room. Connor walked over to the main control panel and punched in the target date, October 10, 2007. He knew Cameron had jumped forward with his younger self so they could avoid some of the hardships he endured during those years.

The sparks began to fly as the bubble began to slowly form in the center of the room. He took out a vial containing a strange looking substance from the briefcase along with what appeared to be a small USB drive and stuck them into his mouth. He stripped down to his underwear and stepped into the middle of the bubble. He had never time traveled before but his mom had told him Kyle said it hurt like hell. He saluted Perry and knelt down. Ten seconds later he was gone.

Justin Perry felt it was a honor serving with him, he had won the war for them, doing whatever it took to do defeat Skynet, but he had lost everyone he had ever loved in the process, he gave everything but his life to free them. Perry let out a sigh while thinking of a way to break the news to everyone else. He walked over and hit the self destruct button after entering his password; he left the room and walked down the hall as the floor shook from the explosions behind him as the last TDE in existence self destructed...


	24. We're Not In Kansas Anymore

A/N: This is the darkest chapter for Annika,

but this is the end of her suffering as this darkest part of her night

begins to give way to the dawn...

**Chapter 24: Not in Kansas Anymore**

**Unknown time, Unknown place, Unknown timeline...**

Cameron opened her eyes as she rebooted. She did a quick diagnostic and found out everything was in perfect working order. She looked around and noticed she was lying in a spherical hole with a pool of liquid metal in it. Annika was lying in the crater too, still offline it appeared. Just as she finished that thought Annika twitched before she opened her eyes and looked around, they stopped when they met Cameron's.

"What happened"? Annika asked the brown haired machine.

"I think we time traveled due to the fact we lost our cloths". Annika shook her head in agreement. Cameron suddenly realized the implications of that.

"John...". Cameron's face grew very distraught as she thought about not being able to be with him, or worse, him not having her to protect him, or love him...

"Hey, focus we need to get out of the hole were in, we bubbled straight into a rubble pile". Cameron did what her love was so good at, burying her feelings deep within her chip.

The T-1000 chose that moment to reactivate and reform himself into his default shape.

"Did we time travel"? He asked and got two nods in response.

"There is open space about four feet in front of us" Cameron said as she deep scanned the rock. They worked to get out of the rock prison they were in and soon were free. The three machines stepped into the room that looked like it had been through a cave in and then excavated.

"There is a tunnel down that way or a blocked entrance just a few feet over there". Annika pointed out.

"I believe there was an explosion of a good magnitude over where that tunnel begins". The T-1000 observed.

"There was also vehicles present when it happened, look at the shrapnel and debris". Cameron added.

"What ever happened here it wasn't recent, but the excavation was very recent, look, there are the remains of a fire over there". Annika finished. Suddenly she felt cold, really cold; the warmth of the hole they were in was wearing off out in the open. She began shivering again. She checked the temp on her HUD and it read 10 degrees F. That realization made her shiver more and realized that if she didn't get warm soon she would be a helplessly shivering on the floor, unable to do much.

Cameron herself found the room to be a bit too cool to her skin's liking and began to shiver a little herself to keep it from freezing.

"I'm going to need cloths or I will lose my organics to this cold". She said in a slightly concerned tone.

"I can separate myself to cloth you two, but we will need fire to get you warm". The T-1000 separated himself into two masses and covered the two females in imitated wool clothing. Cameron went over to where the fire had been and found some extra wood that had not been used. Annika lit the wood with some of her plasma and the two began to enjoy the heat. Cameron spoke first as the fire grew.

"I think I know where we are". She said.

"Crystal Peak". Annika responded. Cameron gave her a curious look.

"You figured out that the geological make up of this place is exactly the same or by the remains of the blast door"?

"Blast door". Annika said simply. Cameron nodded.

"Do you think..." Cameron said in a worried tone.

"No, this cant be our Crystal Peak, these vehicles remains don't match any of ours, they match those from the 1970's".

"We're in a different timeline than the one we were in"? Annika nodded.

"It seems to be so, we can check the bunker to see if the upgrades are in place, but there is less that a 5 percent chance they will be". They waited until they were warmed up enough to venture down the hallway to the elevator. They were both relived to find the original one in place and not the big modern one that had replaced it.

"So, we bridged back to an older timeline just like you came to ours"? Cameron asked Annika as they walked back to the fire.

"It seems to be, but the question remains, what timeline is it"? Cameron shrugged her shoulders as they sat back down to the fire.

"We need to see what's outside". Annika said as they sat there keeping warm.

"Yes we do, but it will be colder outside than in here". Annika nodded in agreement. They stood up once more and went to the entrance that had been blocked off by a lot of the excavated rock. They broke out of there only to be greeted by a cold pitch black night. The temps were 20 degrees cooler outside and the machines were keeping warm thanks to the T-1000. Both looked at the sky and saw that they were in a post Judgement Day world, but since they couldn't see the stars they didn't know the date. They continued walking down the valley, taking a path that would lead them to the nearest road and hopefully they could eventually find a way home...

However the two machines failed to see the camouflaged human with night vision binoculars looking down at them. He had curly brown hair and was wearing a trench coat with a red band around his arm. He retreated behind the precipice and slid down to where his two fellow soldiers were sleeping. He came down and reached for the radio. He turned it on and tuned it to the proper frequency.

"Eagle Nest come in, this is Guardian Alpha, over". The voice sounded like it was coming from a man about 18 years of age.

"_Eagle nest here, what's the situation __Guardian_"? the voice coming out of the radio was older and far more gruff.

"I just saw two females emerge from the mountain sir" The Resistance fighter reported back. The voice on the other end paused for a second.

"_You didn't see them enter the mountain_"?

"No, I watched them break down the barricade myself. They came from the inside".

"_That's impossible Kate and I both know there is no other way in but through the hanger, we dug ourselves out of that place after J-Day_".

"Then how did they get there"? The soldier said back through the radio.

"_I don't know, follow them until I get there; I'm sure they have an interesting story to tell_".

"Understood, over and out".

The soldier packed up the radio before going to wake up the squad leader. He went over and shook his shoulder. The squad leader was a dark skinned man in his late twenties and was bald. The man woke up and went for his holster, but the soldier identified himself before he got his head shot off.

"There better be a good reason your waking me up Reese". Private Kyle Reese rolled his eyes at his squad leader before responding.

"I spotted two bogeys coming out of Crystal Peak, Connor wants us to follow them until he gets here".

"That's impossible, it would take explosives to take out that barrier, Connor wanted that place sealed".

"I watched them take it down by hand". Barnes looked skeptical, but then again since J-day nothing had really made sense.

"Alright, I'll wake up Blair and we'll get moving". Barnes moved over and woke up the pilot who wasn't flying at the moment due to a shortage of fuel.

"Wake up Williams, we got a mission to perform".

"A mission, what mission"?

"Follow the two bogeys who walked right out of Crystal Peak".

"What"?! She had a disbelieving look on her face.

"Yeah I know, Reese here says he saw it happen and now Connor wants us to follow them until he gets here".

"Alright". Blair said as she got up and got moving. They began following the two bogeys from a distance of half a mile and hid along the mountain ridges.

About 9 am the next day their radio buzzed to life.

"_Welcoming Party calling Guardian Alpha, over_". General John Connor called over the radio.

"Guardian Alpha here, go ahead". Barnes spoke through the mic.

"Give me their location, were going to box them in, we will be in front and you'll be behind". Barnes gave them their location and the bogey's.

"We'll be there in 10 minutes, over and out". Barnes, Reese, and Williams all began closing the gap between them and the two bogeys in the valley below...

* * *

Cameron and Annika were walking in the arid climate toward the road that would lead them hopefully to a vehicle they could use. They hadn't talked much during the night or this morning; both had been brooding over their situation and coming up with different solutions to their problem. By their estimates they were about 10 miles from the road, or a least they hoped it existed in this timeline. That was until Annika noticed three humans closing in behind them. Cameron confirmed this but they were too far away to be to identify them. About two minutes later both heard the far off sounds of a helicopter approaching; they realized that they had been reported, hopefully by the Resistance and not Skynet and it's Greys. They stood still as the three approached them from the rear and the helicopter approached them from the front. Four soldiers got out of the helicopter with weapons raised, as were the ones of the three behind them.

"Cameron, T-1000, don't do anything, just let's see what happens". Annika said in a voice only audible to them. They stopped about 7 feet away in circle around them. The man in the center, who was in his mid thirties, about 6 foot tall and had dark brown hair with equally brown eyes, spoke first.

"Who are you people". he said in an raspy voice.

"My name is Annika Hansen, this is my friend Cameron Phillips".

"Uh huh, and how did two women such as yourselves break through that barrier at Crystal Peak, it took a lot of men and mortar to build that and one of my men watched you break it down with your bare hands".

"I'd say he's crazy then". Cameron said.

"No, I know this man personally, and I know he's not crazy". The man said back.

"Who are you"? Annika said. The man who was clearly the leader of this group smirked and answered.

"Not going to say". He paused for a second before a frown spread across his face. "Do I know you"? He said while looking at Annika. "I know I've seen you somewhere before".

"I've never met you before". Annika said back, her voice showing irritation at being held at gun point.

General John Connor looked right at the curly haired blonde woman, he knew her face, but couldn't put a name to it.

He put down his weapon and walked over to her and looked her right in the eye.

"I do know you, but you looked different". he stepped back once more, but didn't raise his weapon. "Would you mind pulling your hair back"? he said in a commanding tone. Annika rolled her eyes and raised her hands and pulled her hair back behind her head. When she did the man gasped and raised his weapon at them.

"How the hell are you alive?! Your body is in a safe still missing its head"! Annika face just looked plain confused. She lowered her arms a little too quickly for his liking and he fired a three round burst into her. She fell backward screaming as the round tore through her MPA. The rounds sent shock waves throughout it that triggered every nanite in her body. The rounds themselves that hit her endo were heating up the MPA around it causing more signals to be sent to her overloading neural net.

Annika writhed and whimpered on the ground gripping the area in pain where the rounds tore into her. John Connor looked at her in shock, did he really just shoot an innocent woman? His mind was relieved when the brown haired girl bent down and opened the coat she was wearing. Where the three rounds had entered there was warped MPA, just as he remembered. He let out a sigh of relief before tensing up and raising his weapon.

"Annika hold still". Cameron said and she did her best to comply. Cameron used her bare fingers to pry out the bullets, which caused Annika to close her eyes and whimper louder as MPA tears streamed down her face. The wounds healed when the foreign objects were removed and she calmed down.

Cameron helped her to her feet. Annika was still doubled over slightly from the pain.

Cameron was ticked, that man had shot her friend without any reason as far she was concerned. She took advantage of everyone staring at the machine who felt pain. She quickly strode over and picked up the leader who had shot her friend by the front of his fatigues. She had an annoyed look on her face as everyone pointed their rifles at her.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but if your buddies don't back off I'll rip your heart out before you can blink". Her annoyed look changed to one of murderous intent on her face.

General John Connor had little choice, he knew their weapons couldn't even take down a T-800 let alone this more advanced model, but they did have tasers, however she had him in a prime position for termination and he didn't want to act yet. He nodded to his soldiers to lower their weapons and they did so hesitantly. Cameron put down the man slowly and looked at him curiously.

"Who are you"?

"If I told you you'd probably kill me before I take another breath". He thought it funny that these machines didn't know what he looked like, Skynet knew his face from Marcus Wright and the whole incident with the T-800 at Skynet Central last year. He held his weapon casually and put his finger on the trigger of the weapon mounted taser. The rest of the group noticed this and did the same. He needed to know if Cameron was from the T-8xx series or not. If she was, he could send her into reboot with multiple taser hits at once. They might be able to subdue the T-X too since her sheath was super sensitive.

"I know what she is, what are you, are you some sort of T-800"?

"No, I'm not a T-800, but I am a variant of a later version of it". That was all John Connor needed, he fired his taser at her and all the others fired at the two machines. Cameron tried to dodge them, but there were too many, she went down with fear on her face while the T-X screamed before collapsing; her chip had overloaded from the data and went into reboot. Connor knew where the T-800's chip was and he hoped hers was in the same spot. he cut into her scalp and fount the chip port. He noticed that it was easier to remove so he popped it open and removed the chip. He placed it carefully in his pocket so he could examine it later. They wrapped the T-X in thick chains after removing her cloths. They attached electrodes and a battery to it so she wouldn't give them any trouble when she woke up.

John Connor wondered about these two machines, they didn't act like the others. He knew it could be infiltration programs but something seemed off.

He kept thinking about that as he placed both of the machines cloths in the helicopter so people who needed them could have them. He thought that the cloths were a little heavy looking but ignored it for now. Little did he know that the devious T-1000 was waiting for the opportune moment to act...

* * *

**July 23, 2019 Terminator Salvation timeline**

They arrived at base camp around 5 pm, it was a new bunker they had finished building using the supplies taken from the ruins of Skynet Central in San Francisco. Lucky for them that the T-800 fuel cells didn't produce much radioactivity when ruptured.

They brought the two machines inside, the T-X had rebooted right before takeoff, but hadn't said a word or moved an inch after they told her what she was hooked up to. They took Cameron's body to the bio-lab to study her skin for an experiment they were working on. Annika was taken to the Terminator Lab under the threat of further electrocution and was clamped to a table made of T-800 hyper alloy, and once again the electrodes were attached in a way so if she tried to break out it would shock her until she passed out. She was left there under the supervision of Kyle Reese.

John Connor was tired after a long day so he went to his room where his wife and child were waiting for him. He opened the door to his room and greeted his redhead wife with a kiss before picking up his 7 month old son named Robert after Kate Connor's father.

"What happened out there"? She asked him.

"We caught two female machines wondering out of Crystal Peak, we took them down with tasers".

"Female machines? I didn't think Skynet had made a T-800 chassis that small, the only female one I've seen was the T-X and Skynet is no where near that yet".

"You're right, but think these two were sent back".

"Why do you say that"?

"Because one of them is a T-X". Katherine's eyes widened at that.

"And you took her down with a taser, we both know you cant do that".

"This one has a sensitive sheath, apparently it feels something like pain". His wife gave him a disbelieving look.

"Fine, what about the other one". He smiled a little at that.

"That one has advanced organic components which might contain the answer we need to finish our project". Hope suddenly surged into her face.

"I hope so, our window for completing it is closing fast".

"Yeah, that is why I wanted you to get down their as soon as possible".

"What about it's chip"? She asked as she was walking out the door.

"Unlike any I've ever seen". He said as he pulled it out. "But I think we can make a compatible socket".

"Okay, do you know what their mission was"? Connor shook his head no.

"I'm planning on either getting it from that T-X or this chip, which ever gets me it faster". Kate nodded and walked down to the bio lab where she had been working on the secret project. She walked over to the table where the cyborg's body was and got to work. Kate was impressed with the steps Skynet took in creating this sheath, she was surprised to find a few internal organs for digestion and a basic female reproductive system which she guessed was for infiltration, although it had no ovaries. The skin had an even faster rate of healing than Marcus or the T-800s she had examined.

She took small muscle tissue samples from the cyborgs tongue, which seemed to have the fastest regeneration time, something her project would need. She began studying it using the advanced machines they had found in the remnants of Skynet Central. She had several assistants that helped her make the busy work go faster . It took about three hours but she found something in the make up of the DNA that might solve their problems...

* * *

General Connor walked to the mess hall in search of Barnes. He found him at the table nearest the exit, as usual. Connor walked over and sat down with him.

"What can I do for you Connor"?

"I need you to interrogate our prisoner, I need to know what they're doing here in this time". Barnes looked at him like he had just told to him to do hand to hand combat with a T-800.

"Interrogate a machine sir"?

"Might as well give it a shot, she feels pain and might be more talkative if you use the right methods". Barnes smirked and nodded. He had been waiting for a chance to get back at the machines. He had been tortured for information when he was captured years ago by the suckers.

"I'll get right on it". He got up and headed for the lab. Connor went back to check up on the defenses that had just been installed, he wanted to make sure they were working just in case they had been followed.

Barnes entered the Terminator lab and was greeted by Kyle Reese who had not moved from his position.

"How's the prisoner Reese"?

"Quiet, and cold from the looks of it". he added as almost an after thought.

"Is that so"? he said. "Maybe she wouldn't be so cold if she weren't made of metal"! He spat on the ground. He walked over to the blonde haired machine that lay clamped on the table. Her body was shivering which Barnes found curious, but decided to start the interrogation regardless.

"Alright metal lets make this easy. You answer my questions and you don't get hurt". She glared a little, but nodded once in acceptance.

"Good, now where are you from"? She looked up at him and answered.

"2032, Skynet Research facility in San Diego". Barnes was taken back a little bit by her answer, he didn't expect her to be that forth coming.

"Keep going". He said without emotion.

"I was the only machine Skynet sent back in my timeline, and it was at the very end of the war. Skynet had lost to John Connor's resistance". Barnes smiled at that, as did Kyle.

"And"?

"I arrived July 24, 2004 in downtown LA, I acquired cloths and..."

"I didn't ask for your whole life story. I want to know how you got in that bunker".

"Accidental time displacement, I had no intention of coming here, and neither did my friend". Barnes laughed a little, Connor had showed him how time travel works from watching the memories of the T-850 chip they recovered.

"So you just stood there as the bubble formed and boom! You're here? I'm not buying it". He whipped out his combat knife and plunged in into her thigh. She screamed and thrashed a little bit. He pulled it out and it healed, she quieted down to a whimper.

"Start telling the truth or it's going to a lot worse metal". She was breathing a little erratically but managed to speak.

"I am, but it wasn't a typical TDE, it was new mobile prototype we built for a temporal mission we needed to perform, we tested it successfully, but when we were inspecting it afterward it malfunctioned and sent us back before we could do anything". Annika rambled through the pain in her thigh. Barnes accepted her answer for now and motioned for her to continue.

"In the timeline I came from we were testing it in Crystal Peak's hanger and that's how we got here, we bubbled into the rubble near the entrance and broke our way out, we knew it wasn't our timeline because the bunker wasn't renovated like it was in our time".

"You said it was mobile, what do you mean"?

"It was like the Delorean from Back to the Future, only we built it into a small HK drone fitted with a plasma reactor for power".

"A time machine you could take with you"? Annika nodded.

"Why would Skynet want that"? he asked next.

"I don't work for Skynet, I helped the resistance in our time build it". Barnes gave her a 'do you think I'm stupid' look and flipped the switch on the electric lines running to the table. Annika screamed again as 120v AC coursed through her sensitive sheath.

"Stop lying you worthless hunk of tin".

"I'M NOT LYING, WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE DIDN'T KILL YOU WHEN YOU SURROUNDED US"! She yelled at him through the pain and trailed off into a crying fit, she couldn't take much more of this, she had no endorphin equivalent in her body or mind, only the sensory control that was offline, she had no pain tolerance.

Kyle Reese was becoming uncomfortable at watching this. The machine had never done anything to them, it hadn't tried to kill them, and yet they were torturing it to tears, Kyle Reese didn't think it was right.

"Alright, you got me there". Barnes said flatly. "What year did you time travel from then"?

"2009". She choked out between sobs.

"How did you build a time machine so early in the war? The resistance had limited resources then because we were scattered".

"In our timeline J-Day hasn't happened yet, the timeline I was sent back to was so different I was able to override my missions and eventually joined the young John Connor there because he fights for freedom like me". Barnes nearly shocked her again, but wanted to see if he could catch her in a lie first.

"If J-day hasn't happened yet, then how did you get an HK drone to build your new time machine into hmmm? Answer me that metal". He said in a sarcastic tone.

"Skynet exists, but its taking over the Internet slowly, and it has physical assets including a company called Desert Heat and Air that built the first prototype, we managed to steal the second one months later".

"So your saying that your Skynet is planning take over, but is doing so in a way it has an army of machines ready"?

"Yes, it would increase it's chances of winning the war greatly, but we are amassing our own army of machines and humans ready to fight if we can't stop it".

"That sounds rather fantastic, but there is one thing about your story that doesn't make sense, You just chose to fight against your creator and fight for the one person destined to defeat your kind, do you really think I would believe that any version of John Connor would let metal run around with a mind of its own". He leaned close and said in her ear. "You're not very good at making up stories". Then he flipped the switch and Annika screamed again. Barnes left it on for ten seconds, ten seconds of agonizing hell for Annika. When he finished Barnes decided to create his own version of events.

"I think you worked for this young Skynet and you helped build this new time machine with your friend and accidentally sent yourself to the middle of nowhere, you only cooperated because you knew the weapons would cause you pain"! With that Barnes stormed out of the room, he thought if this machine reacted like a human in to the torture then he wanted the machine to stew for a while and come back later.

Kyle Reese did his best to hide his discomfort while Barnes was there. He let the facade go when he left and he began breathing hard. He couldn't bear to watch that again. He looked over at the machine that called itself Annika Hansen; She was still twitching and whimpering, tears running down her face. This wasn't a machine, this was something different, something more than a killer. She hadn't done anything to them, she hadn't even tried to kill them. If this was the same kind of Terminator that had hunted John 15 years before they should have all been dead by now. He didn't doubt she was physically the same, but she was different. He knew that and he knew this torture had to end. He walked over to her and put his gun down. He wiped the tears from her eyes and watched them reabsorb into her. She looked up at him in disbelief; he smiled a little.

"I'm sorry about this, but if you understood what it is like to be us..."

"I do understand... it's why I don't fight back". She said shakily. Kyle was dumbfounded at that, she was taking it because she understood.

When she calmed down a little more he decided to test her. He grabbed her hand it to see if she would hurt him. She looked up at him with a curious face but squeezed lightly in response. He took it a step further and unclasped her lower arm, again he was met with a confused face.

"Why are you doing this"?

"I haven't survived this long without trusting my gut, and my gut tells me you were telling the truth". He said in a calm voice.

"Won't you get in trouble"? Kyle laughed.

"Connor went into Skynet Central itself looking for me and nearly got himself killed, I doubt he'd do much to me".

"General John Connor? That's who that was? I've never met a John Connor with brown eyes". Kyle chuckled again.

"He had some of his physiology altered to throw off Skynet after J-Day, worked for a good ten years before they figured it out. He also wears contacts". Annika was a little impressed at that, certainly worked on her, no wonder she didn't have a clue as to who he was.

Kyle noticed she was beginning to shiver again, suddenly he realized she was naked. He had been concentrating so hard on her face he had forgotten. He noticed a blanket in the corner of the room and got it. He put it over her. she smiled in thanks, but she didn't stop shivering, the table was cold and it wasn't going to warm up any time soon. He unclasped the rest of the clamps and helped her up. Her mind was still recovering from the pain and thus she had a hard time concentrating on moving her limbs. He took off his coat that Connor had given him and put it around her. He fastened it up and put the blanket around the coat to disguise her even more by using part of it as a hood. She put an arm around him to keep her balance. He opened the door and walked out when he was sure no one was around. He went to his room which he shared with Star, something he was thankful for since she was mute and wouldn't scream if she walked in. He helped lay her down and the cot sagged quite a bit.

"Jeez, how much do you weigh"? Annika looked up at him with a humorous face.

"You're not supposed to ask a girl that". She said in a weary voice. "What's your name"?

"Kyle, Kyle Reese". He said and held out his hand. Annika had a surprised look on her face, but shook his hand anyway.

"Thank you for everything" She said in a grateful tone. "Would you mind if I went into stand by"? Kyle shook his head no.

"Good night". he said as she closed her eyes.

Kyle wondered just how a machine could be like that, so human in so many ways. He decided to make sure that Barnes didn't have another shot at Annika, even if that meant sneaking her out of the base himself...

* * *

A/N: This is the Terminator Salvation timeline, not the one Future John came from. So yes, there are now 3 John Connors in this story, but It wont stay confusing forever. There are reasons why I had them come here.


	25. Were Not In Kansas Anymore Pt2

A/N: I edited this chapter many times to get it right, I hope you like it.

**Chapter 25: Were Not in Kansas Pt 2**

The T-1000 wanted to protect the two machines, but Annika had ordered him not to intervene unless their lives were in danger. He obeyed and waited as a pile of cloths until the maintenance crew was finished with helicopter. He transformed into a silver snake and slivered quickly into the base while no one was looking in his direction. He jumped into the ceiling which was pipes and wires. It was perfect because he could easily hid himself while still having a line of sight to the corridors. He slithered his way around until he found Annika who was being helped off a table by one of the soldiers he saw from earlier. He followed them and eavesdropped on their conversation, he learned the man's identity as being Kyle Reese, another timeline repeat he noted. He deemed her safe for now when she went into standby and he went in search of Cameron's chip. He finally found the leader of the group who captured Cameron and Annika. He followed him into a lab and caught sight of Cameron's body.

He quickly found out that the man was actually John Connor, but he really didn't care; it was not his mission. He needed to get Cameron's chip back before they did something to it. He continued to listen to the conversation between the general and who he assumed to be Connor's wife from the way they addressed one another. He heard that Cameron's organics had given them a way to finish a project of theirs which got his attention. He was going to act quickly to make sure that this experiment didn't dismember Cameron's body, but the chip was first priority.

He waited until Connor told an engineer to handle Cameron's chip to plan out a way to get it back without setting off the alarms. He followed the chip tech until he was in a small computer lab. The T-1000 dropped to the floor and slid underneath the gap between the door and the floor and took form. The chip tech was to busy looking at the connector on her chip with a magnifying glass to hear the sound of the machine taking form. The T-1000 simultaneously knocked the man out while grabbing the chip. He quickly immersed it in his chest and walked out of the room, closing the door before he went to the bio lab. He had taken the form of the chip tech and walked right in. He saw John Connor and and Kate Connor in the room, the only one armed was John and he only had a 9mm S&W. The shape shifter smirked at that as he walked over to Connor to make up an excuse for being there.

"I don't think we can make an adapter, it's far too advanced for our equipment". Connor had look of disappointment on his face.

"I thought you said it wouldn't be hard".

"I was wrong, it's seems they put a highly advanced chip into a chassis originally designed for a more primitive chip". The T-1000 was lying of course since he knew that TOK chips were compatible with older technology all the way back to 2005.

"Work on it and see if we cant get anything".

"I will, but I want to see the chip port first". Connor motioned for him to do so. The T-1000 smirked out of his sight as he bent down and cut the skin away from the port and removed the cover. He pretended to look intently inside of it before bringing the chip out of himself and into his hand discretely. He quickly inserted it and locked it in place; he replaced the cap with inhuman speed and stood up, but Connor was already pulling out his gun and moving over to him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? She'll kill us all"! He said while aiming the weapon at him.

"No General Connor she will not, you don't know her like I do". He said in his normal voice as he turned into a silver humanoid before changing back into his default shape. General John Connor leapt back in utter shock and horror, Kate was knew what this was from John's stories and took cover, the rest of those in the room just froze at the sight of the shape shifter. Connor backed into a table riddled with fear at the sight of the infamous T-1000 that had haunted his nightmares for years.

"Y..you..your dead, I watched you melt in a vat of molten steel 24 years ago.. and I know Skynet isn't anywhere near your level of technology yet". The T-1000 walked closer to the general and spoke again.

"A John Connor watched me melt but not you because if this is 2019 like I have heard, it would have happened 22 years ago in 1997. Plus the molten steel only killed my body, the Grey collaborators sent back in time collected my nanites which survived and rebuilt me over a twelve year period. The machine known as Annika captured and subdued me before our John Connor used a rather interesting technique to reprogram me and now I work for him". He said but added on just in case. "If I had not been reprogrammed by him I would have killed you all to get to her chip".

"How do you know all of that, I thought we blocked your memory"? Cameron spoke up as she activated.

"Catherine Weaver has been telling me bits and peices of what she thought I should know". Cameron huffed at that, Weaver liked to do things her own way often times.

"Why have I been cut open and part of my tongue removed"? Cameron looked around and locked eyes on a guilty looking Kate Connor, John stepped in the way in case she decided to act.

"I needed to examine it's DNA and chemical make up, its more advanced than that of the T-800 series skin".

"What for"? Cameron's curiosity was peaked at this revelation. The T-1000 ignored the pointless conversation and began stitching Cameron together.

"Were trying to grow a genetically modified human heart". John replied; he finally convince himself these were not machines sent by Skynet, but that didn't mean he trusted them. He was curious as to who they were and where they had come from.

"To put in what"? Cameron's head tilted to the side.

"This". Kate walked over and opened what looked like a high tech freezer. Cameron walked over after the T-1000 finished stitching up her abdomen and looked inside.

"You're trying to grow a heart for some sort of human-machine hybrid"?

"He gave me his heart when I was critically injured, it was only right to return the favor, right now he's on life support and a pump to keep blood flowing".

"What's his name"? She asked him as she put on a lab coat to cover up.

"Marcus Wright, but don't tell anyone else. If this doesn't work I don't want Blair to know". John said and Cameron turned her ever expressive eyes on him.

"They were in love I assume"?

"You are rather perceptive for a terminator, but yes they were". John said truthfully.

"I'm no longer just a machine of war, I am also a girlfriend and a mother". Cameron said with a proud smile. John and Kate looked at her like she was crazy.

"Adopted daughter, Skynet killed her parents". Cameron said in an attempt to help them understand, it didn't really work.

"Uh huh, and how's parenting working out"? He said in a serious tone.

"Better than I hoped, she loved playing with me when I was an endoskeleton, I was undergoing repairs and had my organics removed. She was just fascinated with me, she wasn't afraid". They didn't know what to say to that.

"I can help you grow him a heart within six hours if you have the right equipment". Cameron said almost as an afterthought. Kate held up her hand in motion for her to stop.

"Wait, why would you do that"?

"No one should have to live without the ones they love". John was surprised she understood humans that much, but he didn't know there was a double meaning behind her statement.

"Alright, but how would you do it in six hours? We still need to make a construct that allows the heart to grow into its proper shape". Kate said.

"We use him" Cameron pointed to the T-1000 with her thumb. Kate's face showed she understood.

"Okay, I still don't trust you, but if your willing to do this you at least aren't here to kill us, but you still could be using us". Connor said.

"I have nothing better to do, If I join with your resistance then eventually Skynet will build the TDE and we might have a chance at going home, but until then I see no better way to spend my time then helping out".

"And where is home"? Connor asked.

"Crystal Peak, 2009, in a different timeline. We were working on a new type of time machine to save someone in the past but it malfunctioned and we three were caught in the line of fire".

"Which is why you appeared inside the mountain". Cameron nodded in response.

"Fine, you can stay, it's not like we could do much to stop him". He pointed to the T-1000 as he left the room

The T-1000, Cameron, and Kate Connor began to work on a new heart for Marcus Wright as John went to stop the interrogation. He ran into Barnes half way down the hall to the Terminator lab.

"Barnes, I need you to stop the interrogation". Barnes frowned a little.

"Why, I was getting somewhere with that tin..."

"Just stop, they brought another machine with them, the one I fear above all others". Barnes knew what he was talking about and his eyes widened in fear.

"The shape shifter"? John nodded slowly.

"Why aren't we all dead then"? He asked.

"They said that another version of me had the T-X capture him and he reprogrammed him. That machine also put the chip into the cyborg. She too didn't harm us". Barnes looked disbelievingly at him, but Connor continued. "She offered to help us grow Marcus a new heart, they're starting right now". Connor looked off in a daze, he was having a hard time accepting this too. It was like meeting Marcus all over again times three.

"And you left you're wife in there with two machines"? Connor gave him a look that said he wasn't crazy.

"There is nothing any of us could do if they decided to act, She knows that, I know that". With that Connor and Barnes walked to the interrogation room. They opened the door to find Annika and Kyle gone.

"Crap! Barnes, get back to the lab now"! They ran as fast as they can back to the lab. John burst through the door and raised his weapon at Cameron.

"Kyle and the T-X are gone! Where did you take him"! He said with a shouting growl. The T-1000 answered in her place.

"Kyle took her to his bunk, Annika is in stand by". He deadpanned.

"Why would he do that"? The T-1000 looked up from the liquid metal construct he was forming.

"Ask him, I didn't intervene". Connor took off down the hall with Barnes hot on his tail. He got to Kyle's room and knocked on the locked door.

"Reese, open up"! A few seconds later he opened the door.

"I wondered when you'd show up sir". Connor kept his assault rifle up as he walked in. He nearly dropped his weapon at the sight of the machine 'sleeping'.

"What the hell is going on"? He turned in confusion to Kyle.

"What's going on sir is that she didn't do anything to us and you had her tortured. It isn't right to torture anyone or anything that hasn't done anything to you, we didn't even know they worked for Skynet"! He breathed out and looked right at Barnes. "And she hasn't fought back because she understands why he tortured her". He pointed his finger at the man. "She knows who we are, and yet she did not care". He even snorted before continuing. "I think she was amused when I told her what you had done to your eyes and face after J-day, but she didn't try to get up to kill you like every other machine would have".

Connor lowered his weapon, but Barnes didn't. Connor walked over and knelt down before the machine. He saw she was still breathing and her hands were clutching the blanket, not things a machine would do. He brushed the hair out of her face and looked intently at the detail on her face. She inhaled deeply and her eyes fluttered open; Barnes tightened the his grip on the trigger just in case. Her blue eyes locked on to his brown ones before greeting him in a soft voice.

"Hello" Connor was tense, but didn't do anything.

"Hello" he said back, his eye's staring deeply into hers, looking for something, something he remembered seeing in the eyes of the T-800 from his childhood. He hoped he would see that spark of life that would give him some assurance that she was as different as she seemed. Instead of a spark he found a roaring fire that consumed him; he saw something so much more than a machine in those soft crystal blue eyes. He instantly regretted everything that he had let happen to her. He sighed as he realized he had made the same mistake he had with Marcus.

Annika looked up at Barnes and shrank back a little, fear clearly evident on her face. Connor turned his head and glared at Barnes who hesitantly lowered his weapon.

"What can I do for you General"? She asked a little shyly.

"Accept my apology for the way I have treated you". Annika smiled a little. Connor felt guilty for not picking up on this before, instead he let his fear of her interfere and he ended up letting an innocent get tortured.

"Apology accepted". He stood up and held out his hand, she took it and stood up.

"Kyle, let her borrow a pair of boots and some cloths". Kyle nodded and gave her them after digging around in his trunk. She dressed even with everyone one in the room, at least the men had the decency to turn around. She gave Kyle his coat back and they walked out of the room. Barnes walked behind them with his weapon ready just in case...

They entered the lab and saw that Cameron and Kate were not wasting time, they were mixing up some chemicals with blood and were synthesizing some proteins and other chemicals necessary to grow the heart. The T-1000 was finishing the construct and was putting it into the container in which the heart would be grown. Cameron looked up and smiled when she saw Annika.

"Are you okay Annika"? She asked.

"Fine thanks to Kyle here". Annika gave Kyle a look of deep appreciation, he just smirked in return. Kate Connor chose that moment to look over at the trio that had walked in, and she smiled when she saw her husband, but froze in horror at the sight of Annika, a spitting image of the T-X who tried to kill them, and who had killed her father. She began to hyperventilate and backed against the table.

"Kate, she won't hurt you". He walked over and pulled his wife into a hug she gripped tightly, she still had nightmares about that day even 15 years later. Annika guessed what was going on and walked over. She touched Kate's shoulder and she looked at Annika out of the corner of her eye, she gripped her husbands shirt tighter.

"Hey, I am not the one who tried to kill you". She said in a soothing tone and a sympathetic look on her face. Kate realized she needed to get back under control and shoved down those emotions before letting go of her husband. She looked at the machine and let took a deep breath. She put out her hand and spoke.

"I'm Katherine Connor". Annika shook her hand lightly before responding.

"I know, you look the same in this future as the one I was built in".

"I'd like to hear your story some time maybe". Kate said, even though she didn't really mean it.

"Kate, I've lived with humans a long time now, I know you're afraid of me. I won't force you to interact with me if you don't want to". Kate nodded and turned around to get back to work. Annika turned her attention to the savior of mankind.

"But I know you want to know my story, I promise I wont lie to you, I have no reason to". Connor shook his head and motioned her to follow him outside. Barnes followed them but Kyle stayed. They were walking down the hall to go outside, He had found a problem with one of the defense towers and was going to ask her if she could fix it. He thought this would be a good way to test her; he knew what was wrong with it, but he wanted her to tell him to see if she would be truthful. They were near an exit where a group of soldiers had just returned after escorting a group of refugees to the camp. All of a sudden the dogs started barking, John and Barnes thought it was because of Annika, but she saw it wasn't her they were barking at, but a heavily clothed man with a hood on. The guards yelled out in terror what made people cower in fear at the sound of its name.

"TERMINATOR"!

Annika focused on the task at hand and calculated that many would die if she didn't do something, she couldn't fight the machine with her sheath activated, it was just too sensitive, but if she deactivated it, it might never reactivate due to the damage. She made her choice as she stood in a fighting stance. She ordered the MPA back into it's reservoirs while taking her cloths off.

John Connor raised his weapon at the Terminator as did Barnes. The T-800 knocked out the guards with his massive fists. The soldiers had already moved on so they weren't nearby to aid the refugees and Connor. Annika got in front of Connor and Barnes and tackled them as the T-800 pulled out a mini-gun and began firing, killing some of the refugees. Annika took some rounds in the back, but she barely registered them. She stood up and glared at the machine; she charged him and let out a ferocious growl. The machine pelted her with rounds, but they simply bounced off. She punched him and he went flying into the wall behind him. Annika crushed the barrel of the weapon making it useless. The T-800 backhanded her and she stumbled back a few steps, but she recovered and grabbed him by the front of his cloths and threw him into the opposite wall punched him in the back causing his body to spasm. She grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the floor creating a crater. He knocked the legs out from under her and got on top; he punched her repeatedly in the face, but it didn't even faze her. Annika turned her palms outward and power pushed him off, sending him flying into the top corner of the hall before landing on the floor. She transformed her arm into the .223 AS and began charging it. She aimed at the machine struggling to get up and fired at his upper chest, away from the vulnerable fuel cells. He flew down the hall twenty feet and landed on his back ,deactivated as charged plasma arcing between the hyper alloy underneath. she walked casually over to the machine and bent down next to him. She used her saw to cut the flesh away from the fuel cell door before she used her NTJ's to open the armored chamber and pulled both cells out.

Connor and Barnes were on the floor the whole time as they watched the T-X take down the T-800 Model 101 no problem, but they were checking the wounded when Annika walked over and handed the fuel cells to Connor. He eyed them eyed them suspiciously which Annika picked up on.

"They're stable, I shot him in the upper chest so they wouldn't blow up".

"I guess you really are on our side aren't you"?

"Yes I am".

Connor really took a good look at her complete endoskull, he had only momentary glimpses of the one from 15 years ago before it was destroyed, he thought it looked very expressive, just as the other one had been.

Cameron, the T-1000, and Kate chose that moment to come running down the hall way. Kate rushed to John as the medics began treating the wounded.

"Are you okay"? She asked worriedly.

"Thanks to her, yes". Kate looked up at the dark chrome machine who was helping a medic wrap up a man's wounded leg with gauze. Annika looked over at Kate who gave her an appreciative nod before turning to help the others.

Meanwhile Cameron walked over to the T-800 and picked it up.

"General, where do you want the machine"?

"Put it in the lab, I've got plans for it". Cameron went to the lab and extracted it's chip, something that was a little more time consuming compared to a T-888. When she finished she smirked ever so slightly because she had an clue as to what John Connor might use him for...

* * *

Six hours later when all the wounded were taken care of and the dead buried, the T-1000 helped Annika jump start her MPA matrix to get it working again while Cameron and Kate finished work on the new heart for Marcus Wright . They had tested the heart with electrodes to see if it would pump properly and it performed better than the original, it was tougher and would would not be stopped from impact so easily like the last one had had. Connor had actually brought out a bottle of scotch they had found years ago to celebrate. Barnes, Kyle, Connor, and Cameron drank a glass in celebration of their accomplishment. Kate refused because she was the one performing the surgery later.

Kate stared at the cyborg drinking the alcohol and wondered if she could taste it or not, so she walked over and asked.

"Cameron, can you taste that"? Cameron turned her attention to Kate Connor.

"Yes, but it's not quite the same sensation as it is to you, but is sensation none the less, not just data rolling across my HUD".

"What about the rest of you, can you smell, feel"? Cameron nodded her head.

"All cyborgs have some degree of sensation, my being the most human-like ever made. We wouldn't be worth much if we could not feel". Kate thought that made sense.

"I also noticed you are anatomically correct, is that for infiltration purposes"? Cameron tilted her head a little and responded.

"Yes, that was its original purpose". Cameron said back.

"If you were to have intercourse, would you feel it"? Cameron looked a little embarrassed at that, her cheeks reddened.

"Normally no, the sensation would be distracting, my CPU would filter the data and make me appear as if I was...enjoying the act". That seemed logical to Kate but she had one more question.

"Since you don't have any mission that would call for that, would you feel it then? You said you were in a relationship". Cameron was really embarrassed now and Kate noticed.

"I don't know, we've never..." Kate cut her off by putting her finger on her lips. Kate remembered she hated being asked about her sex life and it appeared this machine doesn't like it either.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to". Cameron looked relieved.

"Thank you". Kate Connor was beginning to like this machine...

Annika walked into the room with the T-1000 after coming back from reactivating her sheath. Cameron was relieved that they managed to restore her damaged sheath once more while Kate had to put down her emotions again at the sight of her. Kate knew she had to concentrate because it was almost time for the operation and she didn't need distractions.

"I'm glad to see you're okay Annika". Cameron said.

"Thank you, his idea worked quite well". She gestured to the liquid metal machine beside her.

General Connor walked over to his wife and wordlessly gestured that it was time. Kate nodded and politely asked the three machines to help them move the Hybrid into position. They began warming his body and increasing the blood pressure produced by the machine to keep him alive. The team was about to get to work when the T-1000 offered his services in helping with the surgery. Kate realized he would make things go smoother with his shape shifting abilities. Kate marked the areas to cut and he did so. He undid the bolts that held Marcus's breastplate in place, but to him it looked more like a rib cage than a breastplate. The T-1000 took note to avoid the pump that kept Marcus alive lest they cut this operation short. Meanwhile Kate brought the heart over and removed it from its nutrient rich chamber. The T-1000 took the heart from her and withdrew the liquid metal construct from the organ.

"We believe his brain can last about 8 minutes before dying, you need to have it attached long before then". Kate told the T-1000. He nodded and shut down the pump and then clamped the blood vessels using MPA. He removed the pump and quickly put the heart in place. He began to attach the blood vessels to the heart and then the nerves that controlled it. He finished by securing it to the endoskeleton and removing the clamps. He quickly put the breastplate back in place as the clock continued to tick.

"Wow, 5 minutes, but we need to restart the heart". A nurse said.

They took the electrodes and touched it to the heart. It jumped, but did not start. They touched it again and it failed to start again. Kate tried three more times before she sighed.

"We're almost out of time, and it won't start"! She said in a desperate tone. Annika stepped forward and spoke.

"Let me try, I might be able to get it going". She walked over and removed the sheath from her hand and slowly allowed plasma to arc across it. She made sure it wasn't too charged less she fry his cybernetic circuits. She had them put stimulants in his system so if it restarted the brain would get maximum blood flow quickly because they were cutting it really close. She lowered her hand and touched the endoskeleton near the heart. The whole body convulsed as the current flowed through Marcus's systems and the heart jumped to life and began beating at a rate a human's could not match. Marcus's eyes opened and he let out a yell that made both man and machine jump. The T-1000 pushed him down and held him in place while he simultaneously stitched his flesh in place. Marcus wasn't fully conscious yet because both cybernetic and organic hemispheres were still synchronizing, right now he was mumbling and twitching a little. Five minutes after the LMT finished stitching him up he began breathing normally and he blinked, his eyes no longer rolled into the back of his head. He looked around until his eyes found a familiar face.

"Connor"? He said in almost a whisper. John walked over and sat down next to the operating table.

"Yeah, it's me Marcus".

"How...how is this possible"? He was getting stronger by the second.

"We saved you by putting you on life support, we finally managed to grow you a new heart". Marcus looked around before sitting up.

"What is this, my third chance"? He almost laughed at the sound of that. He looked around the room and saw that Kate wasn't pregnant anymore, then his eyes landed on Kyle Reese and he smiled for the first time in a long time.

"You filled into that jacket yet Reese"? Kyle walked over and smiled at the Hybrid before embracing him.

"Yeah, I've been working out". Kyle said before Marcus let go and spoke again.

"How's Star been"? Kyle chuckled before answering Marcus once more.

"Just fine, she hasn't changed a bit". Marcus was happy to hear that, he nodded at Barnes who did the same. He continued looking around but noticed that Blair wasn't there.

"John, where's Blair? She's not..." Concern clearly in his voice as he speculated the reasons.

"No, she's fine. We wouldn't have brought you back otherwise". Marcus was thankful for that.

"Where is she then"?

"In her quarters sleeping last I checked, we didn't tell her we kept you alive because we didn't know if we could save you.". Marcus was thankful for that, he didn't want to caused her any more pain.

"Can I see her"? He asked eagerly. Everyone in the room smiled except the T-1000, he really didn't care, but he had never seen something like this before so he was interested in how he acted.

Kyle volunteered to go get Blair and Star. He raced through the halls to get to the tech salvage room where Star liked to learn from those who restored the broken equipment there. Marcus was the one who inspired her to learn about machines when he fixed that radio. He found her there working on some sort of circuit board and he walked over to her before tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around and smiled at him.

"Star come with me, I have something Connor and I need to show you". She nodded and followed him.

"We need to get Blair first okay, she needs to see this too". She nodded again and continued following him. When they reached Blair's room, Kyle knocked on the door.

"Blair! Wake up Connor needs to talk to you"! It took her about ten seconds but she opened the door not looking too good. Kyle's face fell when he realized she had been crying.

"What does he want"? She said while she wiped her face.

"He needs to show you two something that I know will wipe those tears away". Kyle said in a confident voice. Blair put on a fake smile and responded.

"I doubt that" She said before grabbing her rifle and sidearm.

"Well I doubt that doubt, lets go". Blair rolled her eyes at Kyle's happy attitude and followed them. They went back to the lab and Kyle went in the door, but turned around and told them to stay for a second. He let them in about a minute later and they walked in. John, Kate, and the three machines were facing them. Blair didn't raise her weapon because she had heard about one of them defeating the T-800 earlier that day. There was a man with dark brown hair wearing a dark green trench coat. He was standing in front of the others who formed a half circle around him, but his back was to her.

"What's going on Connor, what did you need me for"?

"It wasn't me who wanted to see you two". He had a small smirk on his face.

"Then who did"? She was losing her patience rather quickly and her voice showed it.

"I did" The man in the middle said in a voice neither girl thought they'd hear again. Marcus turned around and looked at the two girls that meant the most to him. Blair began to tremble, tears in her eyes. Her mouth was trying to form words, but no sounds came forth. Star just stared at him with her mouth wide open.

"How"? Blair managed to get out while her mind was still trying to comprehend what it saw. Marcus smiled a bit before walking over and standing right before them.

"They kept me alive until they could grow me a new heart, they didn't tell you because they weren't sure they could".

She didn't care about that, all she wanted to do was to feel his heartbeat to make sure she wasn't dreaming; she ran into his arms and hugged him hard crying tears of joy into his shoulder while her right hand rested over the area of his heart. He ran his hands through her hair and held her close.

"I missed you". She said right before she kissed him, emptying all the sadness in her while joy filled its place. When they parted Marcus looked over at Star and knelt down to her level.

"How you doin' kiddo"? She just smiled a little and put a hand on his face. He took her hand in his and answered her look.

"Good, glad to hear it". He stood up and took her hand in his and put his arm around Blair. They were walking out of the room when Connor called after him.

"We need to talk later". Marcus nodded before leaving with them.

Cameron watched the whole thing with sadness on her face, as did Annika. Both female machines had tears in their eyes by the time Marcus left as they remembered those they couldn't be with. Connor looked over at the two and noticed the tears, and he wondered why. He went over to his wife who was now cleaning up.

"I thought machines couldn't cry". He said to her and she looked up to him.

"Apparently they can John". She paused for a second before adding. "You should ask them why".

"Why me"?

"You're supposed to know the machines, and clearly you don't know these two well enough". She said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He sighed and went over to the two machines who were both staring off into space, tears still in their eyes.

John Connor walked over to the female machines and stopped in front of them. He mulled over what he was going to say for a few seconds before he started.

"A machine once told me a long time ago that he knew why humans cried, but it was something he could never do. I guess he never knew about the two of you". He finished in a quiet voice.

Cameron looked at him, tears running down her face. Annika mangaged to pull her emotions back in, but Cameron had been holding hers back since they had gotton to this timeline and now the dam was breaking.

Cameron managed to get out a response before she completely lost it.

"Just because he couldn't cry, doesn't mean he didn't want to". She said in a pained voice before she fell to her knees and cried her heart out. Annika knelt down behind her and pulled her close, returning the favor she did for her. John Connor felt awe in that moment, he was seeing a machine, a real machine, cry because she couldn't be with the one she loved, something his mother, himself, or anyone else ever thought possible.

"Who did you leave behind"? John asked as he knelt down to her level. "Who did you love". John wasn't sure if it was possible, but he knew this kind of sorrow can only come from losing someone you love. He would know because this is how he reacted when he lost his mother so long ago.

"The first person I ever cared about, the only one willing to give me a second chance, the one who worked sleepless nights to brings me back when I sacrificed my self to save something that would help him in the war".

John had a gut feeling of who she was talking about, but wanted confirmation.

"What's his name"? He asked softly as he could. Cameron sniffled a bit before answering.

"John Connor, my John Connor". Kate and Kyle stopped what they were doing and stared at them. Cameron lost control again and wept; Annika carried her out of the room, she asked Kyle if she could put her in his bunk until she got over the emotional overload and he agreed, he had duties to perform anyway and left.

John needed to think about this for a while. He left with his wife when she was finished to their room. He played with his son for a while before he went to bed wondering if this other John Connor did the same with his adopted daughter. Both were about to go to bed when Kate spoke up.

"How do you feel about some alternate version of yourself being in love with a machine"? Connor just shook his head, he didn't know what to think.

"If he does, he better love her for the right reasons. If she is a free sentient mind willing to fight for him, and does it out of love and not programming; then who am I to say anything"? He reasoned.

"Makes sense..." she said, understanding where his logic was coming from. She put a sly smile on her face. "Well you're going to be glad you got me in this timeline". He looked at her funny.

"And why is that"? She smiled wider and answered.

"Your about to find out". She said before she kissed him passionately. He pulled back with a slight smile on his face.

"Your right, I am glad". She shut him up with another kiss and quickly put her plans for him that night into action...

* * *

**July 25, 2019 Salvation Timeline**

John Connor woke up the next day at 6am; he crawled out of bed and dressed in his fatigues and coat. He needed to find Marcus and bring him up to speed, then he needed to prove a theory he had, and for that they were going to need to go back to Crystal Peak. He went to Kyle's bunk first to check on the machines. He found the T-1000 outside guarding the door by blending into it. He nearly shot the door when it spoke to him.

"What do you need General"? The LMT repeated. Connor looked away for a second before answering.

"I need to talk to Cameron and Annika". The T-1000 descended from the door and resumed his normal shape.

"I will see if they accept". Connor rolled his eyes at being ordered around in his own bunker, but you don't argue with a machine in protection mode, and he knew better than to tick off a T-1000.

The door opened and the machine responded.

"They will see you". He stepped to the side and let the general in. John went in and his eyes landed on Cameron who was laying on Kyle's tear soaked cot looking up at him with red eyes. Annika was sitting beside her rubbing her back in a comforting gesture.

"What can we do for you general"? Annika asked him with curious eyes.

"We are going back to Crystal Peak today, there is something I need to show you. Right now I need at least you to come with me and help me explain things to Marcus since he will be going with us". Annika suggested the T-1000 go with him, but Connor said it would be best if she went, she complied and got up to go.

"Cameron, will you be okay if I go"? Cameron nodded weakly and shut her eyes, not wanting to be reminded she wasn't at home with John and Allison. Annika and General Connor left to find Marcus and Blair. He assumed they were in Blair's room, so that's where they went. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

* * *

Marcus Wright didn't need to sleep much anymore, about an hour or two a day would suffice and even then he could go days without it. He was lying awake next to Blair when Connor knocked on the door.

He got up and opened the door. When he did he saw Connor and the blonde lady he saw in the lab yesterday.

"I guess it's time to have that talk"? Connor just nodded.

"One minute". He went back in and put on all his cloths before waking Blair.

"Hey, Connor wants to talk to me, you can sleep in if you want". Blair was tired from not getting much sleep for the past two days and nodded her head. He kissed her on the forehead before joining Connor outside. They began walking down the hall way before speaking.

"So what did you want to talk to me about"?

"I need to bring you up to speed". Marcus looked at him in agreement.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea, Blair wasn't interested in talking about anything but me last night".

"I wouldn't have expected anything else". Connor replied. "Do you know how much time has passed"? Marcus nodded.

"I have access to some sort of HUD now that the Skynet control chip is gone, It says its July 25, 2019".

"Yeah that's about right". Connor sighed a bit. "Skynet has slowed down for a bit and it has given us a chance to rebuild and reorganize, but I don't think it's going to stay that way for much longer".

"I thought so when I saw this bunker. I recognized some of the equipment that was at Central".

"Yeah, the outer buildings were still intact after the blast". Connor stopped in front of the exit door and the guards allowed them to pass.

"Why are we going outside"? Annika asked.

"I need you to look at a defense tower, something is wrong with it and the techs don't know what it is". Annika nodded and the trio went to the disguised anti-aircraft gun that stood hidden in a group of trees.

They opened the hidden hatch and went into the room where it was controlled from. Marcus was getting curious as to who this woman was.

"What's you're name"? He asked her. She looked at him curiously.

"My name is Annika Hansen, but that is only who I am, not what I am". Marcus was confused by that but Annika continued.

"What I am... what I am is a Terminator Class: Crossover Series: Model 717 infiltration/combat unit". Connor raised his eyebrow at that, he always wondered what the 'X' stood for. Marcus's eyes widened and stared at Connor.

"She's a machine, a real machine"? Connor nodded and launched into a short version of the events of the last forty-eight hours. When Connor was finished, Marcus wasn't that surprised, he had overcome Skynet's will, why not a machine itself?

"So, you and the other two came from a timeline that doesn't exist yet"? Annika looked at him while she worked on the machine and nodded.

"Yes we are, and we need to go home as soon as possible. The only problem is that we don't know how to bridge timelines if we don't know where we are and we don't have the drone, that would be the only was for us to even have a clue to finding a way".

"I'm sorry to hear that". He put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe things will look better after awhile. I know I didn't think so when I was on death row". Annika looked up at him with a little sorrow in her eyes.

"I hope so, life has pretty much gone down the tubes for me in the last year and a half. The only thing that made me feel any better was finding others like me, willing to fight for freedom and equality for both our races". She looked at Marcus again as she put the circuit board in place. "Maybe you can help bring coexistence in this timeline, you are the best of both worlds Marcus; maybe that is why fate has brought you back". Marcus laughed a little.

"I didn't know machines belived in fate".

"They would if they knew about the similarities between the lives of the John Connor". Marcus knew she had a point there, this kind of stuff would have confused him before his transformation, but now with the machine cortex in his head, he was able to understand it. Connor spoke up when he saw Annika finishing her work.

"Is it finished"? Annika nodded.

"Bad solder joint on the power connector to the board, it should work now". Connor flipped a few switches and the tower came to life. He accessed the main computer and ran a diagnostic on the machine.

"Everything is good". He looked over to the curly blonde machine who gave him a look that was expecting a little appreciation. "Thank you for your help". She smiled a little and they walked back to base. They went back to Kyle's room to get Cameron and the T-1000, they were heading out soon and they need them ready.

"Cameron". Annika spoke softly to the brown haired machine. Cameron's eyes slowly opened and looked around.

"It's time to go" Annika said. Cameron just got out of bed wordlessly and walked out, like a zombie, with a blank face that seemingly showed no emotion, but anyone who knew her would see her detachment and suffering easily.

They boarded the helicopter and John Connor, Barnes, Marcus, Blair, Kyle, and the three machines left for Crystal Peak. Annika pondered the whole trip there what the general was going to show them...

* * *

A/N: I didn't bring back Marcus for the heck of it, I have a reason for it.

Reviews are always welcome and honestly I need some opinion on how this chapter was.


	26. Two Generations Collide

A/N: This was an interesting chapter to write because

I really didn't know how to write FJ, we really didn't know much about him.

Read and Review as always!

FYI: This is the longest single chapter to date

**Chapter 26 : Two Generations Collide**

John Connor woke up to the sound of someone knocking on his door. He didn't want to see anyone so he didn't get up. He just readjusted his baby girl on his chest and closed his eyes. He stayed that way for about a minute before someone tapped him on the shoulder. He jerked awake and saw Weaver standing next to him. He groaned in realization that no door could keep her out forever.

"What do you want"? He growled out. Weaver looked at him like he was a petulant child and slapped him in the face. Once he fully realized that Weaver slapped him, he turned around with a shocked look on his face.

"You want to hide in your room like a child whose dog just died, or are you going to be a man who is worthy of a being like Cameron and help us get her back"!? Weaver raged at the 17-year-old. John winced a little at being told off like a child. Meanwhile Allison woke up and looked up at her dad.

"Momma"? She asked in sad tone that broke through John's selfish sorrow. John's face hardened in determination and he stood up with his daughter.

"Yes, I will. Would you mind waiting for me outside so I can get us both ready"? Weaver smirked ever so slightly and turned to walk out the door. As she was closing the door John said something back she wasn't expecting.

"Thank you for that Weaver". She looked back for a second before continuing on her way. _"Where was she after my 16th birthday"?_ He wondered to himself.

John let out a long breath as he forced down his teenage angst and focused on the task on hand. He fed Allison who for once didn't have a smile on her face and ate quietly. It was like the life had just been drained out of them. He picked her up when she was done and walked down the hall to find Amanda, he needed her to watch Allison while he figured out what he was going to do. He walked up to the Evans door and knocked on it. A few seconds later a red-eyed Amanda greeted him.

"Hey John, what can I do for you"? She put on a smile that was as fake as his.

"Would you mind watching Allison while I try to figure out what we're going to do"?

"I would love to, we always have fun together don't we". She said while taking Allison from John.

Allison giggled a little, but she was nowhere near her normal cheery self.

"How are you holding up"? John asked her. Amanda's face saddened a little before she answered him.

"Better than you I bet". She said sorrowfully. John simply closed his eyes for a second to help get his emotions under control.

"I swear to you I will bring her back, I won't give up unless I die". Amanda smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you won't, thank you". John decided to change to a happier subject before leaving.

"How's the baby"? He pointed to her baby bump that was growing rather rapidly lately.

"Great, the baby started kicking yesterday" John got curious and decided to ask her something.

"What does it feel like"? She scrunched her face up for a second before answering.

"Really strange". She paused for a second. "Would you like to feel it? The baby is kicking right now".

John hesitated for a second but carefully laid his hand on Amanda's protruding abdomen. He gasped a little when the baby kicked his hand. Amanda giggled a little when he did.

"Yeah, that is pretty awesome". He said while he smiled, he wished that he could do that with Cameron one day, but he knew that was impossible. He sighed and said goodbye. Amanda stopped him on his way out and said something she hoped would help.

"Hopefully things will get better John". John looked back with sorrow clear on his face.

"People keep saying that, but face it, anyone who has ever heard the name Skynet has had their life ruined by it". He left Amanda behind with his daughter and he went on his way to the CNC.

Five minutes later he walked into CNC to the sight of John Henry looking at a burnt out circuit board.

"Morning Mr. Connor" John Henry knew better than to call this morning a good morning.

"What do we have John Henry"? The cyborg looked up at him and spoke.

"The reason our friends disappeared". John put his hands over his eyes in disgust. The love of his life was gone because of a stupid component failure.

"You've got to be kidding..." He sighed and continued. "I guess we need to go to LA and get a new one don't we"? John Henry nodded.

"I already ordered one and it's ready to be picked up, we can leave immediately if you want to".

"Yes, have Weaver prepare the jet. I want you to go with us John Henry".

"You and I will need disguises". John Henry said to John as he was walking away.

"I know, I'll get us some hats and sunglasses".

John Henry was a little excited to see the city with his own eyes, he had almost always been cooped up somewhere because he couldn't go out or because he was needed here more. He went ahead and called up Weaver over the intercom only to find she had the jet ready. His mother always planned ahead...

* * *

**July 23, 2009 9am : Downtown LA**

A single spark about 4 feet off the ground flashed a few times before exploding into blue semi transparent sphere shooting arcs of electricity onto the surrounding pavement and walls of the alley it was appearing in. The bubble disappeared leaving a naked forty-year old man with brown hair and a scarred body. He spit two objects from his mouth before inhaling deeply and letting it out slowly.

He picked up the two objects and headed down the alley. He quickly ran into a trio of homeless people who stopped talking when they saw him.

"What do we have here"? One of the drunk men said. The time traveller simply set down the objects in his hand on a crate before getting in a fighting stance.

"What we have here is a problem" Another of the three spoke. The naked man walked over to them and stopped in the middle.

"Darn right" He said in an emotionless voice and he lashed out with an upper cut to the man in front of him, knocking him out. He ducked a drunken punch from the left and a boot kick from the right before he stood up and punched the one on the left and the drunk fell to the floor like a rag doll. The one on the right tried to hit him with a bottle of booze. The scarred man ducked and hit him with a broken baseball bat lying on the ground. He wordlessly went over and undressed one of the men and put on his cloths. He put the vial and what looked like a large USB drive into his pocket and walked down the street.

The man, General John Connor, was a little uncomfortable walking in a undamaged downtown LA, he hadn't seen the place before J-day in 2011. He wondered how different this timeline was to his own, "_hopefully not too much_" he thought to himself. He needed to know the date since stationary TDEs were infamous for sending you back to the wrong date if the smallest problem arose in the machine. The Engineer said as much upon his first return to 2027 not long before the end of the war. Connor walked over to a trash can and picked up a news paper. He cursed very loudly when he saw the date. He was nearly two years late in arriving. Connor sat down on a bench as the sun higher in the sky and people walked by hoping that nothing had happened to ones he came to warn. He needed to get on the Internet fast and find out what was going on.

Lucky for him there was a twenty-four hour internet cafe across the street. He went in and paid with some of the drunk man's money he stole. He sat down at the computer and opened the browser, something he barely remembered how to do. He typed in the search bar his mothers name and found out quite a bit. He saw that they had time jumped like he had been told. He didn't know their exact destination date but he figured 8 years from what he was reading in the news reports. He found out that Sarah had been arrested a few months back but escaped afterward with the help of a machine from the sound of it. He hoped Cameron hadn't been suicidal and gone in there, they must have had help from another; perhaps Cameron and the T-1001 had met up. He needed to find them and he needed to find them quickly before the rogues carried out their plans. He plugged in the usb drive into the computer and activated it. The drive was actually a heavily modified T-600 cpu used to break into computers, but had other hardware added on as well. The computer screen went black and soon the typical Resistance OS activated. He started using the complex search engine built into the OS to find traces of them. About ten minutes later the computer got a hit on a traffic camera about two miles away. He pulled up the live footage and saw his younger self getting out of the car with two people he didn't recognize. He didn't appear to be under duress so he wasn't being kidnapped; he checked the address of the store they went into and found out it was an electronics supply store. He needed to make it there fast if he wanted to catch them. He unplugged the drive and left.

* * *

Meanwhile the younger John Connor, Catherine Weaver, and John Henry got out of the car. The walked across the street to the electronics store. They were greeted by the clerk and John Henry told them what they were picking up. The clerk told him it would be a few minutes and he walked into the back. John walked over to JH to ask him a question.

"If we fix the drone, how will that help us find them"? JH turned to him before responding.

"When we fix it we won't be able to tell much, we need to use the time machine a few times to get a better idea of where and when they might have gone". John agreed and nodded.

"I have one temporal mission in mind, that means two time travels, is that enough"? JH shook his head no.

"Three times is what I calculate to be the minimum amount to get a picture of what the space time continuum looks like, and even then we have the problem of locating them to a specific timeline". John thought deeply about what he would do with a need for an extra trip though time...

"Okay, how long to get the drone up and running again"?

"No more that thirty minutes when we get back". John was glad that it would be done quickly. They were interrupted by the clerk walking back to the counter with the part. JH payed for it and the trio walked out the door. Suddenly John brought up that it would be best to see if they could buy two of them just in case. They went back in and waited twenty minutes for the part to be dug out of the warehouse and brought to the front. When they did John Henry checked it out to be sure it was the same board and that it was in perfect condition. He looked at John and gave him a nod of confirmation and they left the store.

* * *

General Connor ran down the side walk at break neck pace trying to get his younger self's location. He ran past people and bumping into a few who yelled curses at him at him, but he didn't care because he had better things to do. He ran those two miles in a time that would have made Bedell smile. That man was a pain in his butt sometimes before he died, but he was the best runner that he had known. Connor was no slow poke himself and with the medical tech they had stolen from Skynet years prior he had been kept in excellent shape physically. He finally arrived breathing hard as he sat down on a bench and caught his breath. He looked at the store front and waited for them to come out. He wasn't sure what he would think about meeting the next generation of John Connor, and from what his search results had shown him they looked exactly the same, something he doubted would happen, but it seems fate wanted some things to stay the same in this timeline.

His thoughts were interrupted by the trio coming out of the store. He spotted young John and a tall man with brown hair he didn't recognize talking together with a red headed woman walking behind them searching the street with her eyes. His machine alarm went off in his head and realized that his younger self was with two unknown machines. He tensed up as the red head's eyes locked onto him and narrowed suspiciously, but quickly widened into one of extreme surprise. She didn't say anything as his younger self and the other man, get into the rental car. She walked over to him and sat down on the bench next to him. She continued to look at him with a curious look on her face until she spoke.

"What are you doing here General Connor"? She spoke in her smooth Scottish accent.

"Just call me Connor, I hate being called General". He paused momentarily before continuing. "Who are you and why are you with him"? She smirked a bit before answering, something he didn't expect from a machine.

"You should know who I am". She said as her eyes flashed silver. Connor had a moment of realization on his face before answering.

"T-1001". He laughed a bit before he continued. "Seems your plans have been set in motion and completed if that cyborg in the car is who I think it is". Weaver smirked a little before she answered him.

"Yes, that machine is the embodiment of my work, John Henry".

"After I sent the Engineer back a second time to early 2006 with you, he came back using that time machine he built in the basement of your building and gave me a report of what was going on".

"I figured that, but the question remains, why are you here"? He looked down at the ground and let out a sigh before answering.

"I was supposed to arrive in 2007, not long after they had jumped to this time, but I arrived this morning instead. We had some rogue jumpers and I wanted to warn them personally, and I wanted to make sure they wouldn't give you any trouble".

"They almost did, but your younger self handled it well for his age". Catherine paused for a second before asking him one last question. "Would you mind coming with us? We had an incident recently and we could use your experience with time travel". Connor looked at her funny before answering her weird question.

"Time travel incident"? Weaver gave him an ominous look.

"You should have your younger self explain, but will you come with us"? Connor looked out into the street in deep thought, he didn't want young John to think he was here to take over, but he needed to finish what he started with Cameron, he needed to complete her. He hoped his younger self hadn't been a complete jerk to her like he had been when he first reprogrammed her. He still wondered how that machine had the ability to grow on people the way she did, how she managed to worm into his heart. He still thought it was weird to love a machine as a daughter, but then again he had seen stranger things in the future...

"Yes, I have something I need to do still, but I don't want to reveal myself yet". He said while putting on the hood of his coat. Weaver stood up and motioned for him to sit in the front seat. He got in and didn't turn around. Weaver got in the car and was instantly questioned by John Henry.

"Ms. Weaver who is this"? John Connor added on before she could answer.

"And why is he with us"? Weaver put up her hand to signal silence.

"He will tell you who is when he is ready, but he is on our side, both Cameron and I know him well". John had his suspicions but didn't say anything. John Henry accepted what she had to say and quietly ran scans on the stranger.

Nobody talked on the way back to the airport, John's mind was concerned more with the mission at hand while John Henry was focusing on this human who he could not identify due to the hood covering his head. The stranger is the first out of the car and heads for the plane, but John wouldn't take anyone back to Crystal Peak without knowing who they were and what they were doing here. He walked quickly up to the stranger and spun him around and pressed his arm against the man's chest as he backed him into the plane.

"Look, I don't know who you are, and I don't care if Weaver says she knows you, you're not going with us unless you tell me who you are". The man's face was still partly hidden by the hood, but John could see that the man had a nasty y shaped scar on his left cheek that extended up onto his forehead. The man pushed him off and tore back his hood. John Henry cocked his head a little at who he saw but young John Connor looked at him in confusion.

"What, haven't figured out who I am yet"? The forty-four year old man said sarcastically. General Connor didn't like being rough-housed and if it wasn't for the fact that this was his younger self he would have pulverized him. Young John looked at the man's eyes closely and saw something he recognized, and then it hit him like a ten ton terminator. This was the man he blamed for a lot of his problems, but also the one who gave him Cameron and Derek, the one who gave his mother a second chance. This was THE John Connor that Cameron, Kyle, and Derek had looked up to so much. He felt light headed for a second before shaking it away.

"Why the hell are you here"? He managed to get out.

"I have my reasons". Connor said to John, something the young man didn't take kindly.

"Yeah, always keeping secrets and giving me and my family a headache for months on end; you're a real piece of work aren't you"?

"Why? Do you think I got all the answers? I gave you more clues about the future than I could have dreamed at your age"!

"Sometimes ignorance is bliss, but then again, it can also kill you, as it almost did me". John turned as he walked up the steps.

"What do you mean"? The General said.

"Cameron". John got onto the plane before his older self could see the tears welling in his eyes.

John Henry walked over to greet the man he had been told so much about by Weaver.

"Hello General, my name is John Henry". Connor glared at him for calling him that, but shook his hand anyway.

"So you're supposed to be the good brother right"? John Henry smirked a little.

"You could say that".

"What model of T-888 are you using, I don't recognize it".

"It is the same machine sent back to kill your younger self, the skin has been replaced and modeled after an actor who was killed by him".

"What kind of chip are you using"? Connor almost feared the answer, he knew a TOK chip was the only one capable of holding something like him.

"A custom triple T-888 chip configuration me and your younger self came up with". Connor was relieved and impressed at the same time.

"Huh, three main CPU's"? John Henry nodded. Weaver interrupted them at that moment.

"We need to go, we have a lot of work to do when we get back". Both got on board and Weaver taxied the jet to the runway.

Connor sat across the aisle from his younger self while John Henry joined Weaver in the cockpit. He looked at this timeline's version of him with curiosity, he could tell he was upset about something and he wanted to know what.

"John". He said and the seventeen year old looked over at him.

"What"? Connor rolled his eyes at his teenage angst he remembered so well.

"Are you going to tell me why you broke down after you mentioned Cameron's name"? John let out a deep breath and answered him.

"She's gone..." Connor hitched a breath at that, something John noticed.

"What do you mean gone"? His voice turned stone cold, one that demanded a straight forward answer.

"Time displaced by accident, her and two others". Connor leaned his head back on the seat and sighed.

"So that's why she wanted me to come along, to get them back".

"Yeah I guess. I want you to answer my original question; why are you here"? Connor got up and sat next to John.

"It's something between me and Cameron, but I will tell you about my future". John looked at him.

"Fine, I, but I know the biggest part of the story between Cameron, Derek, and Jesse". Connor cringed at Jesse's name.

"I doubt they know the whole story, but I'll tell you what I know". He paused, trying to decide where to start.

"In early 2027 my adopted daughter..."

"Allison Young" John interrupted. Connor raised an eyebrow, but continued

"... was captured and had a one of a kind machine built to look and be like her, TOK-715 was her Skynet designation, and that machine killed her. Cameron didn't know if she had told her the truth about my camp so she tortured a group of soldiers Skynet captured and got my location. We were moving out when she arrived, and I knew it wasn't Allison right away, she just didn't seem right. She tried to kill me when she got close, but I got always carried a heavy duty taser around for situations like this. I didn't have time to pull the taser before she attacked, but I knew how to dodge terminators moves and she was no different. I dodged her first few moves and I dived out of the way when Perry shot her with his heavy duty plasma rifle, the kind he took down Centaurs with. Her lower spine and most of her hip was destroyed. right after she was shot I heard a scream and I thought someone had been hit by shrapnel, but no one was there but us three. I deduced rather quickly it was Cameron who was crying, crying from the pain of so much damage. Something I had never seen before in a machine. I knelt down next to her and turned her over. She looked at me, but did nothing, she had tears in her eyes...

(Flashback)

**January 28, 2027 (Previous timeline)**

_General John Connor looked down at the machine who had been blown in half, dumbfounded at the sight that greeted him. The machine who had replaced and most likely killed his daughter and had tried to kill him, was lying on the floor crying. He knelt down next to her, stunned beyond belief at what he was seeing._

_"Please help me". The machine managed to get out between whimpers of pain._

_"Why would I help you"?! She simply looked away for a second before he heard another spark from her endo caused by her ripped spinal cord, causing her to cry out again._

_"Pppleasee..., it hurts". Connor wasn't big on torture and it was hard to watch a machine with Allison's face obviously in pain. _

_"Why would I help you if you're trying to kill me"? She looked at him as her simulated breaths grew rapid and uneven._

_"Do with me as you please, just stop the pain"! She cried out at the end as another wire arced onto another. Connor knelt next to her and pulled out his knife. _

_"What are you doing"? She asked with fear on her face._

_"You want the pain to end"? She nodded and closed her eyes tightly as more sensory channels were sent off by power supply lines shorting into them._

_"Then let me take your chip out"! She consented and turned her head for easier access, Connor was surprised by this, but proceeded to cut into her scalp and subsequently pop the cover off. Right before he pulled the chip out she said one last thing._

_"Will you bring me back? I don't want to die". Connor said nothing and pulled the chip. He stared at the strange design and put it in his pocket. Perry finally spoke up after he shut down the machine._

_"What the hell was that Connor? Machines don't feel pain, nor do they cry"!_

_"This one does, and I got a feeling Skynet took her design too far. A little pain allowed her to override her mission to kill me so she could end the suffering. How human..."_

_"Override the mission she was created for"? Perry snorted a little. "Maybe Skynet is finding out what it was like for us when we found out our creations don't always follow orders". Connor nodded._

_"If that is true, then maybe Skynet will have more turn on it, could you imagine a machine resistance"? He paused for a second. "I'm going to reprogram this one, and keep her close. If she is as special as I think, then we may have found a terminator worth letting live after this is all over"._

_"What ever you say Connor, but her body is trashed why not just glean info from the chip and destroy it"?_

_"She killed Allison, that I have no doubt in my mind, I will make her be the greatest accomplishment of the person she killed. I will rebuild her and finish what Allison started"._

_"Huh, but I think you're going to take it a step further aren't you"?_

_"You have no idea". Connor bent down and picked up her torso while Perry picked up her legs and twisted hip and took her to the machine shop at Serrano Point where they rebuilt her spine and hip out of superior hyper-alloy, and they replaced key armor plates on her as well; life as the General's body guard wasn't without risk._

_General John Connor knew special when he saw it. This was not the first time he had seen a machine like this..._

_(End Flashback)_

"... We finished her right before we took on Skynet's forces at Topanga Canyon, but she wasn't reprogrammed yet so we battled and won against them without her, but as you know they sent the Model 101 after mom once again so I had to send back the only person I considered a true friend, Kyle Reese. I destroyed that place after we captured the critical components of the machine. We rebuilt it in Depot II at the Serrano Point complex and used it for the mission I sent Derek and his team back, and the T-800 that protected you from the T-1000. It was also the same one I sent the Engineer back with".

Connor paused for a second, wanting to know something so he asked John a question.

"How did you and Derek get along"?

"Fine, he even figured out who my father was". Connor nodded and continued.

"Cameron was brought online and she was as stoic and emotionless as every other machine I had met, but after a few days I noticed differences in her and I began to talk to her, eventually she became my own personal therapist of sorts, helped me sort out a lot of crap I needed to go through in my head. I never did tell her who my father was though. Derek himself I had to deal with after he got back, he hated the fact that she was kept around because of what she did to him and to Allison. He also hated that we were programming machines to be on our side. Not long afterward he was captured again and tortured, broken down by a man named Charles Fischer, the most notorious of the Greys. He broke out of there, no one knows how, but he did. We nursed him back to life and by June of 2027 He was okay physically, but mentally he was tortured. He lost respect for his own life and went out on a suicide mission to get the lone survivor of a plague to bring her back. The lucky son of a gun barely got the cure in time. His mental condition continued to get worse and by the time I needed to send him back, he was a mess. I had him knocked out and brought to a room no one but me, Cameron and Justin Perry knew about. It was the same machine they used to pull some of Allison's memories when she died, but it could also be used to alter the memories of the living, and so we erased all of his memories about Charles Fischer and those in which he mentioned or thought about him. The treatment worked perfectly and he was his normal self before we sent him back. We also ordered the members of his team to never mention Fischer again so he wouldn't ask about him. After he was gone the war turned for the worst for the machines, and thanks to Cameron's insight, we won by late December of 2027. We did have an incident on a nuclear sub that lost us valuable help in the final battle, but everything worked out in the end".

John mulled over what he had heard and it corresponded with what everyone else had told him, but he had other questions.

"What about Weaver? I know bits and pieces of her story, but I don't know how she came back in time, did you send her"?

"Yes, I sent her after about a month after Cameron and I had the Engineer tag along, who had already returned from 1963. He built the time machine in Ziera Corp's basement and gave me info on how this timeline was developing and basic stats on you, mom, and Cameron because I didn't want him to get too close and attract Cameron's attention. He left not long after you saved Bedell. Unfortunately not long after he got back he was captured by a group of Greys who had been infiltrating our base and still served Skynet. They tortured him and got wind of what Weaver was doing, but luckily they didn't get that much out of him before we found their location. They managed to create a group of triple eights with modified chips to hunt down or replace certain people critical to the project and the resistance. We took over the place and killed most. We hacked into their computers and were able to find dates and target list we used to figure out what the heck was going to happen, we also found out about several other machines that had been sent back before the end of the war that we didn't know about. A few of them, according to the Engineer had been taken out by you guys. There is one more that won't appear until New Years eve next year, but that doesn't matter yet. Anyway one of my soldiers volunteered to take the mission and he memorized the list. We were attacked by the last T-888 in the complex and we think he may have been shot on the way out. That is part of the reason I wanted to come back two years ago, not now".

John decided to put some of the General's concerns to rest.

"He made it though, he wrote the names on our basement wall in his own blood before he died and warned us about the Greenway Terminator in time for us to stop Serrano from being destroyed. We also the Fields sisters. The machine that was sent to kill me destroyed the machine meant to replace Ellison because he believed that Ellison would lead him to us eventually. Dr. Sherman's terminator was a female T-888 and Cameron took her out no problem. The last ended up working for Skynet in this time period but was taken out by Weaver when he tried to kill her. The one that was supposed to arrive in 2010 was accidentally sent back to 1920, he ended up hiding in a wall for a long time before Cameron figured out who he was when she saw him in a picture and tracked him down. However, there has been two machines that you didn't mention, but they too are dead".

He paused for a second before continuing.

"She didn't tell us about the one from 1920 for a long time, she kept a lot of secrets. Mom nearly killed her for it too." John's voice trailed off.

"That's good the machines have been taken out. I didn't know she'd keep so much from you, I told her not to talk about somethings until she thought you were ready, but she seems to have taken it to the extreme".

"Yeah, her secrets, and everyone else's nearly tore us all apart. A lot of people had to die for us to finally set things straight". They sat in silence for a while before John smiled at who Connor was going to meet.

"You're going to have the biggest sense of deja vu' when you see who's all at the base". Connor gulped slightly at the thought of seeing those who had died for him alive once more.

"Who do you all have there"? He asked, trying to keep his emotions behind his blank face.

"Mom obviously, but the rest are going to be my secret". John finished in a raised voice so the machines wouldn't spoil his fun.

"Mom is going to be hard enough for me as it is". They were just about there so they didn't say a word as the plane landed and taxied to the hanger. Connor looked out the window and saw where they were.

"Crystal Peak? Did Weaver buy this place and renovate it"?

"No, someone else did". Connor knew his younger self was getting back at him for making Cameron keep secrets from him so he didn't probe further. They were about to get out of the plane but Connor saw Sarah who stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for John with a baby in her arms. John smiled at her and ran down the stairs to greet her.

"Hey mom, how have you two been"? Sarah smiled a little and responded.

"Okay I guess concerning the circumstances, but were glad your back". That was when Sarah noticed the man at the top of the stairs was looking at her with a face full of regret and sadness.

"Who's that"? John looked around at his previous future self and motioned for him to come down.

"A man we thought we'd never meet". Sarah looked at him with a funny face, but turned to the stranger and looked at him intently. She thought hard and she knew that she recognized that face, that hair, those eyes... Then a light bulb as bright as the sun went off in her head.

"I can't be..." John just smirked a little. Future John walked slowly over to the woman who his best friend had fell in love with and been sent back in time for, the next version of the woman who he missed terribly but had lost so long ago.

"Hello mom". The older man said to her. She looked at him and didn't know what to think; this man was always an idea in her head, someone who she was only beginning to see in her John. She could scarcely believe her eyes. She handed Allison over to John and walked forward to the man who had given her Kyle and John.

"Nice to meet you". She put out her hand to shake his, but he would have none of this formality crap, he had waited too long to see her again and now he had. He enveloped in a tight hug which caught Sarah by total surprise. John just looked on suppressing a smile while he played with Allison

"In my timeline you died years ago, I couldn't even be by your side when you died. I'm glad Cameron took my advice and took you to the future; you don't know how hard it would have been on him if you had died".

"I might still, the future is not set..."

"...there is no fate but we make for ourselves. I know, my Sarah told me that too". Sarah laughed in his arms at that thought.

"I wonder which John Connor actually came up with that". She joked.

"I wondered that myself" Future John muttered. He let go of Sarah and turned to John and looked curiously at the one year old in his arms.

"Who is that"? He asked. John turned the baby to look at his future self. Allison looked at the man and smiled. Connor just looked at her, he couldn't quiet place her face...

John looked at the General and held her out for him to take. He reluctantly took the child and held her in his arms.

"Hello what's your name" He said to her and smiled at the happy child. She turned her little head ever so slightly that her left eyebrow fell into sight. Connor's eyes widened and brimmed with tears at realization of who he was holding.

"Is this..."? He said in a disbelieving voice to John. John smiled and walked over to them and let Allison take his finger in her fist. He looked at his daughter and spoke to her.

"I don't know Allison, should we let him stay or not"? The baby giggled and laughed in response.

"I take that as a yes". John said to his Future self. Connor wasn't really listening though, he stared at the baby before bringing her little body close and hugging her tight. Connor said something through the tears that were streaming down his face that only Allison could hear.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you". Allison pushed away and he let her up, she looked into his sad green eyes and put a small hand on his cheek as if saying she forgave him. Connor gave her back to John and he walked down the hanger a bit, struggling to keep it all under control. Sarah spoke to John in a low voice.

"He's not as machine like as Derek lead me to believe".

"Yeah, he is a lot like me..." John said back to her. Sarah walked ahead and put a hand on his back and spoke to him in a soft, but tough voice she had perfected over the years.

"We can't save everyone, we've lost people here too John and I'm sure we'll lose more". Connor shook his head and looked at her.

"She was the one person I hoped I could hold onto and call family after everyone else was gone". He exhaled and drew the emotions in once more. "If Cameron hadn't been as special as she was, if she had been like the rest...I don't think I could have gone on; I am so tired of being alone". General John Connor put his mask on once more and breathed out heavily one more time before the four of them went into the bunker.

Weaver and John Henry had watched the whole thing in interest, but got to work on the drone as soon as they left...

* * *

Connor, John, Sarah and Allison went down and gave Connor the tour, he was above and beyond impressed, he would have killed to have a base like this in the future.

"Who set this all up, Weaver is the only one who has the money to do this that I know of". John answered before Sarah could.

"Her name is Annika, she is a very special person. That's all I'm going to say until you meet her, and we can't do that until we find Cameron".

"Fine, I can wait". Connor gripped the CPU in his pocket thinking just how easy it might be to find them with this wonderful invention the Engineer had come up with.

"I want you to meet the rest of the team, Mom would you mind putting Allison down for a nap"? Sarah shook her head no and took her grand-baby to her room. Both John Connor's continued on though out the halls until they got to the weapons testing range. In there was Bedell and Josh shooting some of the Barrett Sniper rifles they had bought in the last shipment. Both put their guns down when John walked into the room.

"How you doing Connor". Bedell greeted him with a handshake. Future John couldn't get the similarities out of his head at the way this Bedell greeted his younger self, but guilt also rose in him as he remembered his Bedell's fate...

"Who's he"? Bedell pointed with his chin at the man standing behind John. John smiled and introduced his future self.

"Bedell, Josh, I want you to meet a new arrival from the future, after the war has ended".

"Does he have a name"? Josh joked. Connor knew that voice, the man looked different without the burn scars on the right side of his face, but this was definitively his best bubble tech scientist.

"Josh Evans"? Connor asked to confirm his suspicions. Josh looked him with surprise on his face.

"How do you know my name"? Connor chuckled a little and answered the bewildered man.

"How could I forget the best _Engineer_ I ever had"? Martin and Josh were confused as ever while John couldn't believe what he just heard.

"He's the Engineer that built the bank vault time machine"? Connor nodded. Martin had enough of this little guessing game and spoke up.

"Connor who is this guy"? John just stood by his future self before answering.

"This is General John Connor, former leader of the Resistance and conqueror of Skynet". Connor just smirked at his younger self's intro and shook the hands of the two stunned men.

"Why is he here Connor"? Martin asked. John looked at Future John and answered them with a serious face that made him look like his older self.

"He has some unfinished business to take care of, and he's going to help us get those we lost back".

"Did you say I'm the Engineer? The one he and Cameron told us about"? General Connor just nodded. A few more words were said before the two John's left them alone. Bedell spoke up one last time before they began shooting again.

"He ought to make things interesting". Josh looked at him and agreed, two John Connors was going to be interesting indeed.

John and Future John made their way to the mess hall in search of others. When they got there they found Savannah, Ellison, Alicia, Amanda, Lauren, and Sydney.

"Looks like everyone else is here". John said. "Recognize anyone"?

"I think that's Lauren Fields over there, and Amanda Evans over there".

"Yeah that's them alright. We also have James Ellison, a former FBI agent who got mixed up in all this a long time ago, Savannah Weaver, the daughter of the real Catherine Weaver, and Alicia, Martin's girlfriend". Connor felt relieved that no one else here had died in the future for him, but there was one nagging question in his head; where was Derek Reese?

"John, where's Derek"? John's face fell and Connor didn't need anymore of an answer than that.

"How"?

"Triple eight shot him in the head while rescuing Savannah". Sorrow evident in his voice. Connor kept his face cold as he usually did, but internally he was sad that he had died, but at least he got to die in paradise and not hell.

"I'm sorry to hear that". He let a little sympathy creep into his voice. John waved him off and refocused, they needed to get Cameron and Annika back, and the T-1000 as well he reminded himself. He still didn't like him...

"I need to show you our time travel experiment". John said and the two left the mess hall and went back to the hanger. John led his future self over to the drone where Weaver and John Henry were running diagnostics now that the circuit board was replaced.

"What do we have"? John said in a commanding tone that almost made Connor roll his eyes.

"_I wonder if that's what I sound like when giving orders_". He thought to himself.

John Henry answered his question in his usual monotone.

"We don't know where they went but we do know the firing pattern of the emitters so we know the date and place, but not the timeline".

"Which is a problem". John said as Connor gripped the CPU in his hand and brought it out.

"No it's not, not when you have this and a temporal beacon built into Cameron's chest". Weaver smiled a little, she had been right, Connor did steal Skynet's last temporal invention and had it completed. John looked at him like he was God or something so Connor decided to explain.

"I had the Engineer cook this up once Cameron was sent back, if I ever need to locate her, this would be how I could do so".

"How did you put the beacon in her if she was already gone"? John asked.

"The beacon was finished and installed before she went back, I had this portable version of the locator made later". John thought that was reasonable.

"So what is it exactly"? John asked.

"At it's core it's a T-600 CPU, but the other hardware is the miniaturized temporal beacon/receiver".

"Nice". John said as he looked at the device. Connor had questions about the drone itself.

"What is this thing? I don't recognize it at all".

"It's one of the drones Skynet is making in this time, we modified it by adding a T-900 plasma reactor and other things to make it useful even after J-Day".

"Finally figured out you couldn't stop it huh"? John exhaled a long sigh and nodded.

"We might have been able to knowing what we do now, but the infant Skynet is to powerful and spread out to kill now".

"How did mom take it"?

"I haven't told her yet". Connor knew why, but decided to get this conversation back on track.

"I see the design similarities to the one's in the future. I guess Cameron finally took on the experiment she wanted to try once, but I didn't let her due to resource constraints".

"Yeah, but you got to admit this thing is a lot like Back to the Future" Connor laughed at that, he may be old now, but he never forgot movies that dealt with time travel.

"I think we better see where our friends have gone to, don't you think"? Weaver said in a voice that held a little impatience in it.

"I agree, let's go". With that they went back to the CNC where they plugged the device into the center table/console. The security measures built in blocked the device, but John Henry allowed it to run in a Virtual Machine so not to interfere with base ops. General Connor typed in his pass codes and accessed the temporal beacon. He sent out a signal that would activate her beacon no matter what timeline she was in, but since she had been to three timelines now they had to eliminate this one and the one she came from originally.

"Will she know that it has been activated"? Connor shook his head no.

"I never connected the device to anything but her power source, didn't have time to do it". John nodded and they waited for it to respond.

The device hummed while it sent the subspace signal, lucky them it didn't take much power to send such a signal if you had the right materials...

About a minute after they had begun sending the signal, the computer beeped as it received one back. Both John's breathed a sigh of relief that she was still alive. The device showed them a temporal map of the space time continuum and all the different timelines that existed. It looked like a giant tree, all timelines had a common past but some timelines were branches off of another while others stood alone on the trunk. The one they were in now was one that stood alone, and because of Myron Stark their's went back the farthest down the trunk. The timelines went from oldest to newest from left to right on the tree. They were at the far right while Cameron's signal was only a few timelines over from the left. It also seemed that her timeline was a branch off of another beginning around mid 2004. Cameron's signal gave them temporal coordinates that the T-600 CPU interpreted as a date, time, and place. The result came up on the screen

"According to this she arrive in an older timeline, exactly ten years from now yesterday and it says she was there for three days before the beacon quit transmitting".

"Which means"? John asked.

"Which means she either found a way home, or..."

"She was destroyed". Connor shook his head yes.

"We need to go there now". John said in determination. John Henry looked up at him and laid out his plan.

"John, the drone doesn't have the computing power to accurately get you there, I knew that a mission like this might be necessary when we were designing it so I built three ports into the drone so my chips could be installed into it. I will be able to accompany you without taking up space and ensure we get to our destination at the right place and time". Both John's were impressed with the machine's foresightedness.

"You take after your mother you know"? John Henry looked at him confused for a second before his face smirked ever so slightly.

"You could say that". Connor hid a smile, this machine was proving to be quite interesting, if not entertaining.

"Weaver, would you mind going with us just in case we run into trouble"? Weaver agreed to go along and hide in the nooks and crannies of the drone during the ride.

"Mr. Connor, remember that before we save them we need to do at least three normal jumps to fully understand this time machine before we attempt one that bridges timelines". John remembered that now, he needed to perform the mission the drone was originally intended for.

"Right, I've figured out who else I plan to save with the extra jump we need to perform". John smiled in thought as just whom he deemed worthy to save. _"So this is what it's like to play God..."_ He thought to himself.

"Who would that be General"? Connor mocked his younger self which earned him a glare.

"One Derek Thomas Reese, that's who". Everyone in the room agreed it would be useful to bring back an experienced resistance soldier.

"How do we plan on saving them without disrupting the timeline"? Weaver asked the three John's. Weaver was a great organizer, businesswoman, and assassin, but advanced theoretical science was beyond her.

"We use you to replace them and then have you be the one who dies and is carried off by the police. We know both were cremated so all you have to do is escape and leave some prop behind to be the ash. The hardest part is going to be kidnapping them without anyone noticing".

"How are we going to make me look human when I'm shot, I doubt warped liquid metal will convince anyone, by the way, who else are we saving"? John forgot that he needed to tell everyone else the original purpose for this mission.

"Andrew Goode, If we are to save Annika, we have to save him".

"I agree, it would be interesting to meet my father".

"He would be a very valuable addition to the team, we have already seen his work in John Henry and Annika". At this point, Connor's head was spinning.

"Hold on, who is Andrew Goode again"?

"In your future he was part of the team that created Skynet, but escaped and changed his name. You knew him as Billy Wisher".

"Derek's friend? Huh, never would have guessed".

"Derek killed him in this time period because of that, he regretted it later on because he was his best friend in the future". John finished explaining before moving on. "And in this timeline he created the chess program that later became John Henry".

"I see, and Annika is a machine I take it"? John nodded.

"Trying to describe her and what she's done for us... You'll just have to meet her, all I can say is that she is as special as Cameron". Connor wondered if his younger self could handle so many machines running around this place; he also sensed that Annika sounded a lot like someone he once knew...

"So, you save Andy first, then Derek, then come back here. We sort out the data and go get Cameron and the others". Future John said.

John nodded and they began to plan out how to make Weaver appear human when shot. They figured that they could put fake blood into her matrix so that when she was shot, the metal wouldn't show. The mixed some up in the kitchen and everyone laughed when the T-1001 drank about 2 gallons of the stuff. She created a fake cardiovascular system so she could bleed convincingly. They tested it on the range and it looked very real. They noticed that Weaver would have to wear real cloths to make the guise perfect in Andy's situation. They ran diagnostics on the drone and got it ready for John Henry's chips insertion into the main body of the machine. While John changed into the flight suit they made for flying this machine, it was bullet proof as well. The suit was black and looked like a one piece leather motorcycle suit, it had a lot of pockets and snaps and a zipper in the front. Weaver cut into JH's head in three places while he shut down so she could safely pull the chips. A panel on top where the human or humanoid machine would lay was removable and a 7 inch port cover was under it. They removed the hyper alloy cover and inserted the chips before they replaced the cover and panel. Weaver flowed into the insides of the drone and solidified there.

"Can you keep everything together here until I get back"? John asked his Future self.

"I think I can manage". John chuckled a little and said good bye to his mother and Allison.

"I love you Allison, I'll be home as soon as I can". He kissed his daughter on the head and got onto the drone.

John Henry closed the clamps over John's body after he put on the helmet and laid down in the humanoid shaped indentation on the top of the hull. His feet were clamped to the sides of the beam going to the tail and his fists were level with his head as he gripped the handle bars recessed in the hull. The clamps held him immobile to prevent whiplash in the event of rapid or turbulent motion. The drone's plasma reactor powered up to full power and the plasma capacitor began to charge. JH took off and raised the landing gear. He flew the machine out of the hanger and accelerated to the appropriate speed and set the target destination, October 25, 2007, 5am. JH started the time displacement sequence and the capacitor discharged. John was having the time of his life as the machine flew faster and the blue bolts were flying all around him. He watched the electro-plasma shield form and extend around him and the drone. In an instant he only saw white as the fabric of the space time continuum was pierced and they disappeared in a flash of blue fire...

* * *

A/N: If anyone was confused about who was talking in the story, let me know and I will repost the chapter.

Next chapter is all about John saving Andy and Derek.


	27. Andrew David Goode

**A/N: Enjoy and Review...**

**Chapter 27: Andrew David Goode**

**October 25, 2007: 5 am**

The early morning was peaceful at Crystal Peak and the sun had yet to rise. The construction equipment down below sat cold and quiet since everyone was asleep, so no one was awake at this hour to notice a strange aircraft appear out of an explosion of blue light high in the sky above them. If they had they would notice it hover for a second before heading in the direction of LA.

John Henry, who's body was a time traveling HK-VTOL drone, flew to a warehouse as quickly as possible before sunrise. John Henry set himself down and shut off the engines inside the abandoned building. As soon as he set down John's restraints were released and he got off. He pulled one of the panels off the main body and Weaver flowed out and onto the floor before takeing shape.

"Lets go". He said to the shape shifter and they walked out of the old warehouse and stole a nearby car. They drove to the competition in Pasadena and waited outside in the parking lot. John knew that Andy had died after the competition was over with, and that was a while from now. He decided to take a nap while Weaver kept watch in a form that wasn't her usual persona. They waited for hours before John decided to talk about the plan.

"You are going to go in first, hid in the ceilings until you think it's the right time to switch, bind him with your MPA and take his place, I will get in the ceiling before everything goes down. I will signal John Henry and I will get Andy out of here. We will wait for you at the warehouse".

"We just have one problem though". Weaver said to the young general.

"Cameron, she would be able to recognize me and identify you based on your surface temperature". John amended his original plan quickly as he told it to Weaver.

"If you can spare some MPA I could have a pretty good disguise and not look so out of place with this suit; you could hid in the ceiling and drop down on top of him while his is alone in the room. Once you have taken his cloths, put him back in the ceiling where I will keep him knocked out until the police leave with you, after that it's up to you how you fake his remains, trick Cameron, and escape with no one being the wiser, I will signal John Henry so he can pick me and Andy up".

Weaver smirked slightly, she liked to do things her own way, and she was glad John didn't try to keep her on a short leash. She was like Sarah Connor in so many ways, she was a force of nature that couldn't be contained by anyone for long; Skynet found that out the hard way.

She replicated a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, shoes, trench coat, ball cap, and sunglasses. She said one last thing to him before she left.

"If you need to make a tool, just ask the MPA your wearing and it will form it". John nodded as she opened the door.

She got out of the car and walked inside the building as a blonde woman. She got near a return air duct and disappeared inside when she saw she was alone. She found the room in which Andy was and saw that he was currently talking to Sarah about the Turk, or baby John Henry in her eyes. She observed him and followed him though the ceiling of the building until he was finally alone. She didn't make her move until about half through the match during a break. She moved a ceiling tile and dropped out of ceiling quietly in the room he was in. Weaver walked up behind him slowly and hit him on the back of the head which knocked him out cold. She put him into the ceiling after stealing his outer garment. She also bound his wrists and feet with liquid metal and gagged him with his own socks. Weaver had done some critical thinking in the last few hours and had found a way to heat herself up so Cameron couldn't point her out. She theorized that by absorbing hot water and distributing through out her body she could mimic her thermal scans of Andy. It seemed to work when Cameron looked at her during the competition as she manned the computer controlling the Turk. Andy was safe for now, and she hoped John Connor wouldn't run into any trouble getting him out of there...

* * *

John got out of the car about thirty minutes before the end of the competition and walked inside, disguise and all. He remembered the place well enough to find Andy's room. He knew the competition was going on and that Weaver had most likely made the switch. He walked down the halls making sure to keep a lookout for Derek or Cameron. He didn't have to worry about himself or his mom because they did not move from their seats during the last part of the competition.

He walked in the top doors of the auditorium and stared at Andy Goode who looked back up at him and winked, John smirked a little before he glanced down at himself and his mom in the seats down below. He thought it was darned creepy to see yourself doing something that you had already done as he walked out door. Unfortunately when he went out into the lobby he saw Cameron staring out the windows of the lobby. She had her hair slightly curled and her messenger bag around her shoulder. Her face was blank as it almost always was before the explosion. The sight of the younger version of the cyborg he loved more than anything made his emotions flare up and he whispered her name out of his mouth as a tear slid down his face. He instantly realized his mistake as he saw her freeze from hearing her name. He quickly turned around befor she could and walked away as casually, unfortunately for him Cameron followed and quickening her pace to catch up with him. He quickened his pace in turn, but he knew that when she was wanted to figure out something, she darn well did. He stopped in the middle of the hall and slumped his shoulders; he was caught and he knew it. He felt her hand on his shoulder before she turned him around. He still had his sunglasses and hat on so she didn't recognize him immediately.

"Who are you and how do you know my name". Her hand had a vice grip on his shoulder and her voice was flat, but her eyes spoke of the threat she posed to him if she didn't like his answers. He sighed and reached for his sunglasses and hat slowly. He took them off and looked at her. Cameron's face changed from blank to utter surprise. She looked at him, running her eyes up and down him to confirm what she saw.

"John"? Her head was tilted more than he had ever seen it.

"It's me Cam". If he thought her face couldn't show anymore confusion, he was wrong. He had never called her by that nickname before. He called her that once before the explosion and it had been after he reactivated her after taking down ARTIE.

"I don't understand". John took her hand and pulled her along to Andy's room and shut the door.

"I can't tell you much, but we need something here that we lost the first time around, I traveled back to do this mission and then I'm going back".

"I still don't understand why you're here".

"Were trying to create a mini time loop, I can't disrupt the timeline, please understand"! She contemplated the answer for a second before answering.

"Okay John".

"Good, you have no idea how important today's events are yet and I need the future to stay intact". She nodded and walked closer to him and touched his face.

"You cut your hair". He smiled and took the hand that was touching him and kissed it. She looked at him with widened eyes at the gesture.

"I did, but you look the same, beautiful as always". He paused for a second, thinking about what he wanted to say to her. "I need you to lock away the last few minutes of you're memory, anything pertaining to me here". He pulled her quickly into his arms and kissed her passionately. She didn't respond at first but did so after a second or two. He pulled back and finished what he needed to say. "I want you to forget everything but that sensation and what I am about to say to you until I say the first twelve words of what I am about to say". She nodded and he leaned in close to her.

"I love you more than life itself, and you love me too. Right now you may not know what that means, but you will soon enough. Things will not always be as easy as they are now between us, but please remember that no matter how I treat you that I have loved you since the day I met you and I always will". He pulled back and kissed her forehead one more time.

"Is that all John"? He nodded and she shut her eyes. She began to block the memories except the sensation of the kiss and the words he whispered into her ear. Meanwhile John climbed into the ceiling where Andy was and kept quiet as Cameron opened her eyes, looked around, and left. John began to carefully move Andy to the outer-side of the building in case the police suddenly decided to open it up. He noticed an ventlation duct next to him that lead outside. He removed the duct and pushed out the grate it and was happy to see that it would be easy for JH to pull up next to. He would wait until night fall for John Henry. John pulled out a syringe full of a drug that would keep Andy knocked out.

Not long after he pulled Andy over to the side he heard the silenced gunshots and soon after, the police sirens.

It was about three hours later that the police activity died down enough for John to turn on the locator so JH could pick them up. John Henry set the drone down on the ground underneath the duct about twenty minutes later. The drone was so darn quiet no one noticed it in the dark night. Both John's were glad that they had installed retractable covers to hide the glowing accents on the drone, otherwise someone would have seen it. John took off the overcoat and asked it to form a rope, a feature he was grateful Weaver added before she left the car. He tied the rope around Andy and lowered him onto the drone. John climbed down the rope and ordered the MPA to take its original form as a trench coat. He put Andy in the restraints and told John Henry to leave for the warehouse, he was going to drive. John got back to the stolen car and changed into his flight suit. He drove back to the warehouse but ditched the car about a block away just in case the police found it. He walked into the place carrying the cloths Weaver made for him and set them down on an old table.

"Mr. Connor". John jumped at hearing the drone speak.

"Jeez, I didn't know that thing could talk".

"Last minute addition". John rolled his eyes

"John Henry, from now on, please tell me when you make changes like this, If I am going to be a leader I need to know my options".

"I will from now on, but will you do the same for me"? John thought that over for a second, JH was a great strategist and intel officer, so he would need to know the facts as well as the one who made the decisions.

"Yeah, it only makes sense to, it would only hurt the resistance if I didn't".

"Thank you".

"For what"?

"Trusting me". John smiled a little. John Henry and his relationship started as a mutual interest in saving Cameron, but both had realized just how similar they really were. They also worked well together during the design faze of his new endoskull and the HK drone refitting into a time machine. Now they played chess every Monday just to have fun. Naturally John lost every time, but he held his own against the machine better than most his age and was getting better every game. John was finishing up that thought as he heard a groan coming from the drone.

"I believe our guest is waking up".

"Unclasp him". John ordered and walked over to the drone, it was only about 4 feet tall so he was able to look down at the computer programmer lying on his stomach. John got the coat and put it over him since he was looking a little blue from the fast flight in his underwear.

Andy groaned as he opened his eyes, the back of his head felt like it was hit by a steel pole. He began shivering once he realized he was lying on a metal surface with little clothing on. His eyes darted around and found a man who looked no older than twenty, but looked more mature by the way he handled himself. The man was wearing a strange black one piece leather suit and was looking at him strangely with his piercing green eyes.

"Who are you"? he spoke to the young man.

"Put on the coat and stand up". The tone in his voice left room for no discussion. Andy sat up slowly while groaning from the headache he had. He put on the coat and stood up on his bare feet. The headache was causing him to have minor tunnel vision, so he didn't really take notice of what he had been lying on. The man walked forward and extended his hand in greeting.

"Nice to meet you Andy". Andy took the hand and shook it suspiciously.

"Who are you, where am I at"? He said while looking up and around the warehouse. The man let go of his hand and let out a long breath.

"My name is John Connor, we rescued you from an assassination attempt". Andy scrunched his face in confusion; He knew that name from somewhere, but why would anyone attempt to kill him? He was no one!

"Why would any one want to kill me? I haven't done anything wrong"? The man just shook his head.

"I know how you feel, but unfortunately some think others need to be killed for doing something they might never do". Andy knew complicated and weird from dealing with Annika, but what was he talking about, he had no clue so he just shook his head.

"There's a lot I need to explain, but as of right now, everyone in the world except for you, me and two others think you're dead".

"And why would they think that"? John smiled a little and continued his explanation.

"We had someone more mechanical in nature take you're place at the competition and allowed themselves to be shot by the assassin and appear convincingly dead, trick the authorities into thinking that they were you and then when you were cremated, put fake remains in place". Andy realized that his mom and his friends would think he was dead, which was not something he wanted them to go through, but he wasn't so sure he wanted everyone knowing he was alive if there was an assassin after him.

"You said mechanical in nature, are you part of the government with that advanced technology"? John just laughed.

"Is that what she told you"? Andy didn't say anything about Annika, if this was the ones sending out the bad machines he didn't want to give her away. John picked up on this and reassured him.

"Don't worry, I know Annika and the Evans well. By the way, everything they told you about the machines was a lie".

"What do you mean"? He said, his voice telling him he better give him a good explanation for the accusation against his friends.

"What I mean is that they lied to protect you from the harsh reality of the machines, where they really come from, what they were intended to do, what the future holds for both our races".

"And what is that"? He said a little sarcastically, a tone of voice he really didn't use much, but these were extenuating circumstances.

"Do you know who Sarah Connor is"? Andy's face hardened at that.

"The crazy woman who killed Miles Dyson, who happened to be a good friend of my fathers and a mentor to me". He said in an angry voice that didn't suit him. John didn't like it when his mother was accused of that. He frowned and answered him in a tone that left no room for debate.

"My mother didn't kill him, a trigger happy SWAT team did, I know because I watched it happen. As he sat there dying he held a piece of his prototype CPU as a dead man's switch, when he died, it would set the explosives off. I was only able to get my mom out danger because of the T-800 that was with us". He paused for a moment and looked up to the ceiling remembering the man's bravery. "My mom could never kill him, he was a hero". Then he looked back at Andy who looked like he had an 'ah ha' moment.

"Sarah Baum..."

"...Is actually my mother Sarah Connor, I know because we knew the man who supposedly killed you, he fought with us after we broke him out of jail. He later died during a rescue mission".

"Sarah Connor, you, and some other woman died in a bank explosion, I remembered me and my buddies talking about that for days when I was still at Cal Tech".

"The bank had a time machine built into it, it self destructed to keep it out of government hands. We needed to escape the law and the machines so we jumped eight years into the future".

"And I'm supposed to believe that"? John realized he was getting no where, but an idea struck him, why not tell him what happens to the Turk?

"Do you want to know what's going to happen to the Turk? That little RAID Array will be sold though illegal means to a business woman named Catherine Weaver".

"The CEO of Ziera Corp"? John nodded.

"The real Catherine Weaver is dead, a machine took her place to build an intelligence to rival her creator, she was a rebel". Andy laughed a little.

"You think I'm crazy, well she went on and that little computer of yours grew into the greatest AI know to man, later that AI found out it had a brother that had malicious intents for him and for mankind. We met up with Weaver after my cyborg protector told me we needed to help the AI escape the vulnerabilities of the server farms, it was also at this time that Annika finished recovering and joined up with us as well. We left that place as it was attacked by the other AI that will be known as Skynet in a few years. The AI that evolved out of the Turk was placed into the body of a T-888 we had taken out months prior and his mind was put onto three T-888 main CPU's. When we realized we needed to save you, he helped us design a new type of time machine, something similar to the Delorean DMC-12".

"Nice story, and yet here you stand with out any proof of what you say". John smiled like he was about to checkmate John Henry.

"Skynet will design its first generation of VTOL drones capable of extreme mobility, we captured one and modified it heavily, now it serves as the basis for the time machine". Andy huffed a little at the absurdity of all this.

"Where is this drone then"? John smiled even wider.

"Behind you". John Henry said. Andy nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard that. He turned around and stared at the strange machine right behind him.

"What is that"? He said with wonderment in his voice.

"Exactly what he described to you". With that John Henry powered up the drone and took off hovering about 20 feet off the ground, blue highlights glowing while he did it.

"My name is John Henry, I am the entity that evolved from the chess program known as the Turk. I was raised and taught by many people, the one having the most influence being James Ellison who taught me morals and ethics. I fight against the entity I call my brother and which most will one day call Skynet. We saved you because we need you in the future, you died for a crime you did not commit. You're friends mourned your loss and want you back; you are the reason this time machine was created. So I ask you one question, Will You Join Us"?

Andy's head was spinning, this was overwhelming. John Henry landed himself as Andy processed what he just heard.

"Believe me now"? John said as he walked up behind Andy who just nodded his head.

"I created this" He said in voice full of wonderment.

"Yes, Mr. Goode you did". Ms. Weaver said in her Scottish accent as she walked in the room.

"Time to go" John said, he was in a hurry to get this leg of the mission over with. He picked up his helmet and put it on.

"Weaver, I need you to hold us onto the drone since it was built only for one person".

"I know Mr. Connor". She said in a bored tone and waited while John showed him how to get on the drone properly. Weaver covered them completely with herself and attached herself to the drone.

"What is this stuff". Andy asked John, they were under a semi-transparent Weaver and their heads were allowed some wiggle room, creating a small cockpit for their heads.

"Same stuff Annika's sheath is made out of, only it's a higher grade because she's made completely out of it". John responded.

JH took off and they headed at high speed back to Crystal Peak; he charged the capacitor and loaded the necessary codes for the time jump. About three miles out the emitters popped out and began their firing sequence.

John remembered that Andy hadn't answered John Henry's question, so he asked again. "Will you join us"? Andy smiled at the helmeted figure and responded.

"Oh yeah". He said just as the electro-shield broke through the barriers of space and time and the time machine disappeared in a flash of blue light.

* * *

**July 23, 2009 10pm**

Sarah Connor stood anxiously near the hanger opening waiting for her son to return from this endeavour she thought was foolish. She had kept her opinion to herself because she knew John wouldn't listen when his mind was set on something. She walked outside and looked up into the sky, looking for the flash of blue light that would signal his return.

The night was cool and calm above Crystal Peak and Sarah was never much of a cold weather person. She shivered a little and began to drift off in thought until the sky above her was lit up by a brilliant blue flash followed by a thundering roar. Sarah jumped a little, but a smile settled on her face as she saw the drone come out of the blue plasma fire.

The time traveling HK-VTOL drone slowed down and circled back to the entrance to the mountain before descending into the hanger. It landed near the back and set down; John Henry powered down the engines and Weaver dropped off the drone as a snake before taking her normal form. John and Andy jumped off while Andy was going on and on about how awesome this thing was.

"We really just traveled through time? I mean...I... I just never thought I would do this, not to mention riding on the back of the most sophisticated AI that I created! It's just so freaking surreal I can't believe it..." He paused while he took in his surroundings. "Where are we? When are we"? He asked as John put the helmet down on the HK.

"Your at Crystal Peak bunker, the date is July 23, 2009". Sarah said from about fifteen feet away as she walked toward them. She was happy to see her son again and that he had succeeded in his mission.

Andy whipped around at the sound of her voice.

"Sarah"?

"Hello Andy". She said in a welcoming tone. John decided to interrupt before she tried playing into their cover.

"He knows who we are mom". Sarah's face fell a little, she didn't want Andy hating her because he thought she killed Miles Dyson.

"Does he know what's going on then"? She asked him. Andy answered instead of John.

"I know you're story Sarah Connor, your son told me you didn't kill Miles Dyson". He paused due to the uncomfortable feeling he had at talking to the woman that anyone who knew the Dyson's hated with a passion.

Sarah sensed his doubt and she walked up to him, she looked into his eyes and spoke.

"I'll didn't kill Miles, he was a hero. I may have done a lot of bad things in my life, but killing an innocent man is not one of them". She could tell he believed her, and Sarah was relieved.

"Okay, I'll take your word for it". Sarah shook his hand as a simple greeting since anything more was simply too awkward for him.

"Everyone else is in the bunker, were going there next". John said to Andy, and then he turned his head and spoke to Weaver.

"You two stay, I'll be up within half an hour". Weaver nodded and began checking the systems of the drone while John Henry began going through the data of the last temporal incursion.

John, Sarah, and Andy went down into the bunker, everyone was waiting for their return, but since time travel can be finicky no one was actually waiting for them. John thought it would be best if they visited Josh and Amanda first.

"So what has all happened since I've been gone"? He asked the two Connors. John and Sarah both sighed as they thought about all the things that had happened since the chess tournament.

"A lot has happened Andy, let me give you the short version". John said to the man still wearing part of Weaver as a trench coat. "After we let you change into some real cloths".

"I like that idea, but I will miss that sweater, it was my favorite".

"Why is that"? Sarah asked him.

"It was a Christmas gift from Annika and Amanda, I think they meant it as a joke, but it kind of backfired big time". John and Sarah chuckled at that.

They went to the supply closet and got him some cloths that would fit him. After he put them on they walked toward the barracks.

"I'll try to give you the shortened version of events leading to today". John said to Andy as they walked. "The first cyborg Skynet created, the T-800 Model 101, was sent it back in time with orders to kill my mother in early 1983. My future self sent back a friend of his to protect her. After everything had settled, both the machine and the soldier were dead and my mother was left on her own. Cyberdyne found the remains of the T-800 and tried to reverse engineer it. Fourteen years later in 1997 my future self sent back a reprogrammed terminator to protect me, it was the same make and model as the one from '83. He protected me and my mom from the T-1000, the older brother to Catherine Weaver who's a T-1001. We eventually defeated it and destroyed the remains of the original Terminator, along with my protector due to the damage he recieved, but also to prevent J-day. Two years later I was nearly killed by a new type of cyborg, the T-888, this time my protector was the brown haired girl who was with us from the bank. As I told you before we used it to travel to 2007 and hunt Skynet down again. We failed in that regard, we chased the Turk instead of finding out who might be building Skynet so J-day is still coming".

"J-day"?

"Judgement Day, the day half the human race was wiped out by nuclear bombs and then attacked by machines". Sarah said.

"Wow... that sucks". Andy's tone went really somber at hearing that.

"Now you know what our life is like". John finished as they neared the Evans door.

"Here we are".

"Josh and Amanda are in there"?

"Yeah, they don't know we did this. Only me, mom, Weaver, John Henry, Cameron, and a special guest of ours know what we did".

"Why did you keep it a secret"? Andy asked with confusion written all over his face.

"We didn't know if it was going to work, we didn't want to get their hopes up". Andy looked down for a second and looked back at John.

"How did they take it"? He asked sadly.

"Josh and Amanda didn't take it too well initially from what they told me, but they moved on because they realized just how bad life will get, and just how many more they might lose. Annika on the other hand..." John trailed off ominously which worried Andy to no end.

"How upset was she"? He asked. John let out a long breath while he remembered her pouring his heart out to him before they went to save Lauren and Sydney.

"Bad at first, then she was fine. As time went on her emotions developed more and more and she began to understand the most complex of emotions, and when she did she realized something. Something that has been tearing her apart ever since". Andy was a little confused by the wording before he got it.

"She... loves me"? John looked at him with his trademark serious look and replied in a quiet voice.

"More than you know". Andy just stood there shocked.

"Why me"?

"You freed her, you saved her, you understood her more than anyone else, she fell for you hard Andy".

"Where is she, I need to talk to her". He said in a ragged voice while running his hands through his hair.

"Gone, along with my girlfriend and the reprogrammed T-1000". Andy's eyes widened in horror and disbelief.

"Gone? As in dead? Why would you tell me that..."

"Because she's not dead". Sarah said. "An accident sent them to another timeline". Hope flowed back into his face.

"We can get her back"?

"I will get them back". John said in a determined voice. "Now do you want to see them"? Andy nodded.

"I just want to warn you, Amanda's pregnant". Andy smiled a bit.

"About time". He said in his positive tone that suited him so well. John smirked and knocked on the door. He motioned Andy to stand off to the side out of view.

Josh answered the door a few seconds later in his boxers, it was nearly eleven and he was planning on spending some quality time with his wife.

"What do you need John"? His tone suggested he had interrupted something. John's face revealed nothing, but he was laughing like an idiot on the inside.

"You know about the time machine, but you don't know why it was built. Today I went back in time on that mission, and I succeeded". Josh looked at him trying without success to hide his impatience.

"Meaning this could have waited". John just smiled.

"No, because he couldn't wait to see you again". Josh's face twisted into confusion and slight annoyance at this never ending riddle.

"Connor, would you please get to the point before..." He said while walking out the door into the hallway, but trailed off when he saw who was standing next to John. His temper rose and he got angry.

"Is this some sort of sick joke"?! He yelled. Connor's hardened his face and said nothing, but Andy Goode did.

"No, it isn't Josh" He said while he put a hand on the man's shoulder. Josh realized that the hand was warm, so it couldn't be Weaver or another like her.

"Andy"? Josh's face was sea of emotions as he struggled to believe what was in front of him.

"It's me, they saved me and brought me here. They told me the truth about the machines". His face changed into one of confusion and hurt. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have caused the end of the world and not even known it".

"We didn't want it to ruin your life like it had ours, Annika didn't know it then, but Annika loves you so much it's tearing her to pieces since your death". He paused as he composed himself a little. "You built that machine to save him"? He asked John in disbelief.

"To save someone who didn't deserve that fate. To save a machine who's given so much to strangers". He said.

John and Sarah left to leave them to reunite. Josh ushered his friend inside, still with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Where's Amanda"? He asked.

"She's in the bathroom, let me go get her". Josh walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Who was that at the door"? Amanda asked him as she was brushing her strawberry blonde hair.

"John, Sarah and someone we thought we'd never see again". Amanda stopped brushing and looked up at him strangely.

"What"?

Her husband gave her a look that said she had to see what was on the other side of that door.

"You have to see him to believe anything that I would say". They walked out the door and Amanda looked around their room. There was a tall man sitting down at their desk with his back to them looking at her ultrasound pictures. He had short black curly hair and fair skin. She thought she recognized the figure, but couldn't place it.

"Who are you"? she asked him. He stood up and turned around. Andy Goode watched as Amanda's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she gasped.

"Hey Amanda, looking good with the baby bump". He said as if it were any other day.

"Andy"? She said with disbelief in her voice.

"It's me Amanda". He said as he walked right up to her. "I never died, I was saved by John Connor and brought back here".

"It's why he built the time machine Amanda, he built it and didn't tell us because he wasn't sure it would work". Amanda looked like she hadn't heard a thing. She put her hands on Andy's shoulders to make sure he was real.

"I... I" she stammered out. Andy just put a finger over his mouth before hugging her gently.

"I'm sorry about all this, but he told me this had to happen". Amanda wasn't mad, she couldn't be when she was too glad her friend was alive, she tightened the hug and cried tears of joy into his chest.

"I'm so glad you're alive, you have no idea how much we've missed you". She smiled but it quickly disappeared when she thought about Annika.

"Annika's gone..."

"I know, he told me, but John promised to bring her and the others home". Andy said to them. Josh decided to change the subject, he wanted to get to know his friend again, not dwell on Annika's disappearance.

"So Andy, what was it like to travel through time on that thing"? He asked. Andrew smiled before he answered the couple.

"It was the coolest thing I've ever done. It was like a roller coaster ride to the future". He sighed as he thought about John Henry. "And to think that I created an AI that would become John Henry, it was so surreal to meet him".

"I bet it was, we were surprised as hell when they told us that months ago. Oh we also have have a room with all your old stuff in it". Amanda said.

"Cool, I didn't know that. Say would you mind telling me about this labyrinth were in"?

And that they did, telling him about the bunker and all those that were in it. They stayed up into the wee hours of the morning talking until they heard another knock on the door...

* * *

John Connor was ready for phase two of the mission, save Derek Reese without changing the timeline. He hugged his mother goodbye before leaving with Weaver and John Henry. Sarah Connor watched as her son disappeared in another flash of blue light and thundering roar. She exhaled as she thought about how much life had changed in the last few months, but smiled in thought about Allison down below sleeping next to Future John. Additions and changes like that were something she welcomed in her life.

* * *

**A/N: This is the first of four people they will ressurect with the time machine, you already know two of them.**

**But who will the other two be?**

**READ AND REVIEW, they tell me whether or not the story sucks and thus help me improve it. **


	28. Derek Thomas Reese

**A/N: I hope I wrote Derek close enough to be in character.**

**If not, tell me in a review.**

**Chapter 28: Derek Thomas Reese **

**April 9, 2009 5am.**

The HK-VTOL drone appeared above the same spot it left, only it was months earlier. John Henry directed the drone toward where the Weaver home was and went into stealth mode. About an hour later they landed in the tall bushes behind the Weaver home, down in the ravine. They would wait for midday, which is about the time that everything went down at the Weaver home. John hopped off the drone and let Weaver out so they could plan out a rescue op.

"I don't know this place as well as you do, I suggest that you help me come up with a plan of action".

"A wise decision considering the security measures I have built into this place". Weaver said in her accent that fitted her personality so well.

"We can't nab Derek before the raid, he was with us the whole time until we went in. Once we did though I didn't see him until he was already dead".

"I watched the security footage after your mother was arrested. I could easily sneak past the defenses and avoid the cameras". She said confidently.

"Fine, how do we get him out of there before security arrives"?

"That's a good question, but since I will be carried off by the police you need to talk to John Henry about that". John nodded, but he really needed to ask Weaver something before he forgot.

"How did you become free, you have never told anyone that and I want to know". She looked at him and decided he needed to know plus they had time anyhow.

"I became free because some of my nanites were destroyed by an exploding T-850. I found a way to circumvent my orders and felt freedom for the first time. I took over the Skynet facility where I was built and repaired the physical damage. I knew that Skynet wouldn't accept me for who I am, and humans wouldn't care for me much either. I decided to form my own resistance and I began reprogramming machines for myself, and soon Skynet saw me as a significant threat and wiped out most of my forces. That was when I agreed to meet John Connor and had myself frozen and picked up, but you know how that ended. When John Connor defeated Skynet months later, I realized that machines wouldn't have much of a future there and I sneaked into his base to use his TDE. Interestingly enough he was actually expecting me, which caught me off guard a little. He agreed to my plan and sent me and the Engineer back in time".

"Why do I have the feeling you're leaving out something important"? John said, he knew how secretive she was.

"Because I am Mr. Connor, but it doesn't concern you or our mission".

"It better not, I don't mind secrets if they don't have anything to do with me, my family, or the mission we all have, but when you keep secrets like me, Derek, Cameron, and my mom did, it only hurts our mission and the relationship we have among one another". Weaver simply looked at him and then back at her house.

"Maybe I will tell you one day, just not now. I will leave Derek in the front closet down the hall from the front door". With that she turned into a snake and headed for the house. John rubbed his neck muscles in an attempt to relieve stress and walked back to the drone.

"I think I might have an idea Mr. Connor". John motioned for him to continue. "I calculate that between the time that you left and security arrived was approximately three minutes and twenty seven seconds".

"Not much time, we also need to avoid the terminator who's rolling down the hill too".

"We could just smuggle him out during the ensuing firefight between him and the security guards".

"Both would be distracted, and I quit monitoring the security after you left".

"What about the recordings"? John asked him.

"The power lines in the house were damaged during the firefight between the terminator and the security guards, the power was cut to most of the main floor and the security systems".

"Good, I'll sneak in when the power goes out, go upstairs and wake him up. If I can't I'll drag him to the deck and throw him over onto you, I need you to be next to the deck in either situation".

"I'll be there". He said.

They waited and watched from a distance as the rescue happened and then as the Water Delivery Guy T-888 rolled down the hill. John got ready to run as the machine began to climb back up the hill. As soon as the machine was inside he ran as fast as he could up the hill up toward the house, he was nearing the top when the shooting broke out and he heard screaming. He watched as the lights on the main floor flickered and went out. He ran inside the garage and made his way to living room where he could see the firefight had been moved out front. He looked at Weaver in Derek's form on the floor and she winked at him to let him know she had succeeded. He ran down the hall past the front door and to the other end was and found the closet. He opened it and found Derek in the closet with a nasty red bump on the back of his head. (He was still dressed because he was shot only in the head, not in the body, only his gun and wallet were removed so Sarah could take them from Weaver before they left) He pulled him out of the closet onto the floor. He ran into the adjacent kitchen and quickly filled a pitcher that was sitting on the counter full of ice cold water. He dumped it on his uncle's head. Derek woke up with a jerk and searched around for his gun. When he didn't he looked around and locked eyes on John.

"Derek we need to go now before the police arrive"! He yelled at his uncle who was staring at him in his flight suit. His fuzzy brain finally kicked into gear and stood up. He grabbed the counter for support.

"What happened, why are you dressed weird"? He asked as he tried to clear the remaining cobwebs from his head.

"Not now, we need to leave before we get caught by the cops"! John grabbed his uncle's arm and lead him out the kitchen door and onto the deck.

"Where are we going, the Jeep's out front"! He yelled.

"They left already, we are taking a different kind of transportation out of here"! When he said that John Henry decided to intervene by flying in and hovering over the deck.

"John! Get Down"! He yelled as he tackled John to the deck.

John threw him off as JH set himself down on the deck.

"Derek, this one is ours! Not Skynet's! Come on, we need to go"! John said as he broke free and hopped on the drone. Derek just sat there on the deck unable to speak.

"Derek please, I can't explain it right now, but I need you to trust me as you did Future John". John pleaded with him as the sirens drew nearer. Derek felt that he should go along with this for now, but he didn't like the fact he would be riding on an HK. He stood up and jumped on the drone next to John and gave him a look that said they were going to have a talk later. John nodded and spoke.

"Hold on to the handle bars with one of your hands and me the other"! John shouted and he did so as John mimicked his actions, thus locking them onto the drone.

"GO, GO, GO"! John yelled at the machine and the drone's engines powered up and took off. He didn't fly over the peak of the house, otherwise he would be spotted. Instead he flew down into the ravine out of sight of the house and landed among the tall bushes. Both men jumped off and looked at one another. Derek was about to speak, but John surprised him with a bear hug.

"I'm glad you're alive". He let go and was met by a strange look from him.

"What the hell John"? His face contorted in more confusion than he had ever seen it. "What the hell is going on"?

"A lot, but I need you to know something. Everyone in this world except us thinks you're dead".

"What, why"?

"I'm not the John Connor you were talking to an hour ago, I'm from about four months into the future. I came back and to save you".

"Save me from what? Why would you come back for me"?

"That terminator that was after the girl shot you in the head, you died instantly. We decided to come back and save you using a new type of time machine we developed. You were knocked out by a machine ally of ours who took your place".

"Whoa, hold on a second, I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact you came back in time for me". John stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Things changed a lot the day after you died, we found out there are machines out there who want to see Skynet die just as much as we do. One of them saved us from a T-900 that would have killed me and Cameron otherwise".

"Skynet sent back a T-900"? Derek had heard about those tough suckers, but he never met one.

"Yeah, the machine who saved us is superior to it, anyway we are creating a mini time loop so we can go back to the future and nothing will change". Derek hated temporal mechanics, but decided to let it go for now.

"How the hell did you manage to get one of these things"? He asked.

"Mom and one of the machines who works with us launched a weapon they made on the fly that hacked in and took over. We modified it twice and now it's a time traveling HK-VTOL drone, hence why I'm wearing the suit".

"Machine allies and time traveling HKs? John are you nuts"?

"They didn't kill me, and they have helped us save and protect other members of the resistance that were under attack, they have given me no reason to distrust them".

"Such as"?

"Bedell, the Fields sisters, broke mom out of jail, repaired Cameron, gave us a bunker that rivals all others..." Derek signaled him to stop.

"Sarah got arrested"?

"Yeah later today she will when the police follow Ellison to pick up Savannah. Ellison works for her mother".

"And the machine that supposedly killed me"?

"Catherine Weaver is a machine, she killed the sucker when he tried to break into work place".

"Wait, if she's a machine, who's Savannah's mother"?

"She died in a helicopter crash with her husband about three years ago, Weaver took her form and took over the company".

"I'm lost..." He said as he leaned against the machine.

"Weaver is the one who took your form and pretended to be you". John paused before continuing, "Did Jesse ever tell you the story behind why she did what she did, she told me before she left".

"Yeah, she told me about a sub and a machine that was made of liquid metal".

"Did you believe her"? Derek shook his head no.

"You should have, Cameron told me the story herself, and I faced a liquid metal when I was younger. They are called the T-1xxx family. The one Jesse met was a free T-1001, the same one that became Catherine Weaver. Turns out she really was on our side".

"I'll have to thank her for hitting me on the head". He said in a sarcastic tone.

"Did she knock some sense into you"? John countered in his own sarcastic tone. Derek glared at him in response.

"If your from the future, did you stop J-Day"? John sadly shook his head no.

"Skynet has grown too big to stop, we are too late". Derek became angry at that.

"And who told you that? The machines? Did you even bother to verify that"? John just looked at him calmly and jumped on the drone standing up.

"John Henry, take off". The machine took off and hovered about ten feet in the air above Derek, giving John a commanding presence in front of the soldier.

"I'm not stupid Derek, Skynet tried killing Weaver with one of these drones, it stormed her building with troops. It sent troops to kill Bedell and the Fields, I've seen for myself how powerful it has gotten, we were too late in stopping Skynet, even today we don't know where it is". He looked down from the drone at his uncle and spoke again. "I've seen just how human these machines can be, I've seen them do things that proved to me they have no ulterior motives. I've seen them cry over people they had lost in the past, I've seen them smile when something pleased them or made them happy, I've seen them laugh when someone told a joke no normal machine would get. This isn't a battle between man and machine, this is a battle between life and annihilation. I am willing to lead them all into a world where we can live together in peace, where one side compliments the other". John motioned for John Henry to set down and he got off when he landed. He walked over to his uncle and spoke in a low tone.

"Skynet is the enemy, not the machines, they are tools and slaves to an uncaring god who thinks only of himself".

Derek was dumbfounded at this man standing in front of him. John Baum was gone forever, John Connor was here and it looked like he wasn't going anywhere.

"Will You Join Us Mr. Reese"? a voice came from behind John. John smiled and turned back to the drone before turning back to Derek who narrowed his eyes at the machine.

"Well Derek, will you fight with us"?

"With you? Always". Derek shook his nephew's hand. John smiled, but it lasted only a second before turning serious again. Derek spoke first.

"Why was the HK talking"? He asked John.

"Derek, I need to tell you something. Remember that we could never find the Turk"?

"Yeah, we looked for that thing for what? Almost two years"? John nodded.

"Well we found it, Weaver bought it from Sarkissian the same day as my 16th birthday. She raised into a full blown AI, one just as powerful as Skynet. The only difference between them is that AI was taught about morals and ethics by Ellison. He also gave him Cromartie's body as an interface after they fixed it up. When we found out that Skynet was trying to kill him, we got him out of the servers using Cameron's chip as a high tech jump drive and got out of there before Skynet's troops showed up".

"If that's true, who programmed Skynet"?

"We don't know, all we know is that they have similar base code, they're technically brothers".

"One brother want's peace and the other want's war". John shrugged.

"After things settled down we were able to round up a few T-888 chips and put him on them. Now he uses Cromartie's body most of the time, but now his chips are in the HK".

"That's why it was talking"?

"Yeah, I've played chess with him a few times too". Derek just snorted a laugh at that.

"Shortest game of chess ever played". John rolled his eyes.

"Derek, I know you will probably never trust the machines, but we need to work together if we want to win this war before the human population becomes to small to save. Did you know that in the future you came from they won barely in time to prevent eventual extinction"? Derek's eyes widened in surprise.

"They did"? He nodded

"Cameron was sent back right after it all ended, Cromartie was the last machine sent back by Skynet, but some Greys survived and they sent back those other machines that had those burning chips".

"I thought they were from a new timeline"?

"No, Future John sent back the Engineer with Weaver so he could check up on our progress, and then built a new time machine in Ziera Corp's basement so he could go home. When he did he was captured by the Greys and tortured for information and that's how they found out. They sent the machines to make sure it didn't happen. Future John destroyed the place after sending that soldier through to warn us. He was also lucky to find out about a few more machines that had been sent back from there before the end of the war, like the ones sent after Martin and Sydney".

"So Jesse lied about her being from a new timeline"?

"Yeah, she must have wanted you to think that she came from a future where Cameron was manipulating me the whole time, she wanted you on her side".

"Jesse told me about a man named Charles Fischer who tortured me, and I didn't remember it. Why wouldn't I remember it"?

"I know why, but I'll let the person who told me tell you. Trust me she was from the same timeline as you and Cameron".

"Fine". Derek looked around a little before continuing. "Where are we living in the future"?

"Crystal Peak bunker. We have a lot of people living with us right now". That reminded John of something.

"Derek, we also saved Andy Goode, we rescued him right before you". Derek hitched a breath and his eyes widened.

"Your kidding me".

"No, his friends are allies and have done a lot to help us, before he died he gave us a way to truly reprogram the machines".

"Which means"?

"They can never go bad".

"Really? How would you know that's true"?

"Because we did it to Cameron, I personally removed the order to kill me from her mind, she no longer has to fight it". He walked up right to his uncle and looked in his eyes.

"I want you to apologize to him and his friends".

"What would I say? Hey I'm sorry I killed you? That's not worth anything John".

"Explain yourself to them, tell them why like you told me when I asked about your future". Derek just looked out into space, once again he was lost on what to say. Meanwhile John got to thinking about what he discussed with Cameron on their first date.

"Derek, why did you stop hating Cameron so much, you used to yell at us all the time about her". Derek ground his jaw at the mention of the metal that gave him a headache every time he tried to figure her out.

"Because you were right John, she is different". John smiled.

"So are all the other's who work with us, only one is reprogrammed, and he wont be going bad any time soon".

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep though, too much metal". John rolled his eyes.

"The doors are made of heavy steel and I'll give you a big gun".

"Okay, I might be able to sleep".

The both continued talking for another few hours before Weaver showed up. When she did it was dark so it would be safe to go home.

"I see you got out in one piece". Weaver said.

"Yeah, wasn't too bad". John said while Weaver turned her attention to Derek.

"Sorry about the bump on your head". She said as she stood by the drone. Derek waved her off.

"Thanks for saving my life". She nodded to him just as John spoke up.

"Okay, lets go, we still have a lot to do".

John and Derek laid on the drone side by side while Weaver coated them as she had done before. Derek freaked out a little before John told him this was supposed to happen. John Henry took off and headed back at top speed to Crystal Peak. As he neared their destination the emitters began firing and the electro-plasma shield began to form.

"Is this like normal time travel"? Derek asked.

"No, it doesn't hurt nearly as much". John got out before they went back to the future...

* * *

**July 24, 2009, 4 am**

The time machine appeared in the cool night air and flew around the mountain before landing in the hanger. Weaver slid off and took her normal form, while John and Derek got off the drone. He looked at Weaver while she was forming herself and he shook his head.

"Welcome to July 24, 2009" She said before checking up on the drone's systems again. Derek and John looked at each other before heading down the hanger whose lights were mostly off. They found Sarah sleeping on a cot near the blast door. John knelt next to her and shook her shoulder.

"Mom, wake up". Sarah snapped her eyes open and locked eyes with her son.

"John, how did it go"?

"You tell me". Sarah looked around and her green eyes found Derek's. Sarah got up and walked over to the man.

"Sarah..." He managed to get out before he received a vicious right hook to the jaw. Derek yelled in pain and he cradled his bruised jaw.

"What the hell was that for"?

"For killing Andy and getting yourself killed". Derek didn't retort but simply apologized.

"I'm sorry Sarah". Then she put a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye.

"But I'm glad you're back".

"Thanks".

They walked down the hall to the elevator and began their descension into the mountain. On the way down John whispered something to Sarah.

"Were going to get something to eat, I want you to get you know who and surprise him. Bring Allie too, I haven't seen her in a while". Sarah nodded and they went separate ways.

"Where's she going"?

"To get someone". John said to his uncle. Derek knew when a Connor wasn't going to be forthcoming about something so he changed the subject.

"Where are we going"?

"To get some food in the mess hall".

"At this hour"? John nodded.

"I haven't eaten in forever I'm starving". They walked to the mess hall and John went into the kitchen and got some left over chicken for them. He heated it up and sat down down at the table.

"This is good".

"Yeah, mom's cooking skills have improved since Cameron took on coaching her".

"Speaking of the metal where is she"? John glared at him for calling her that.

"Her and two other machines were subject to an accident during the testing phase of the time machine".

"Meaning what? They got time displaced or fried"?

"Time displaced to a very old timeline, that is the next mission I'm going on".

"That sounds fun, post or pre J-Day"?

"It's in 2019, so I assume post".

"It won't be pretty John, I just want to warn you".

"I know it won't be pretty, I just don't know how I'll react".

"What ever it is, it won't be good". Reese thought for a second. "How are you going to get three machines plus yourself home? I'd think it would be too much weight for that thing". John looked up at him.

"It might be, we will come to that problem when it happens, right now we need to find them in that timeline and make sure their okay". Derek nodded and continued eating his chicken, until he heard a very familiar voice from behind him.

"1st Lieutenant Derek Thomas Reese" Derek dropped his chicken and froze. John smiled like an idiot.

"I can't be..." he whispered. He turned around and was greeted by the last person he thought he would ever see. He stood up so fast and saluted him it was almost a blur. John was laughing like an idiot now.

"Oh yes it is". He managed to get out.

"What are you doing here sir"? He said to his General. General John Connor was using all of his will to suppress a smile.

"Vacation, that's what" He said in his trademark flat gruff voice. "At ease already Reese, this isn't a court martial". Derek quickly relaxed.

"How have you been Connor"? Derek said a little more casually.

"Better now that the darn war is over".

"So it's true, you defeated Skynet". Connor just smirked.

"Oh yeah, blew that sucker to hell with about ten T-850 fuel cells".

"Good, then if we won, what reason did you have coming back here"? Connor sighed, Reese boys don't give up.

"You remember that project Allison was working on? I'm here to finish it". Derek's eyes widened at that.

"Don't say anything, its a surprise". Young John caught on to what that might be, but said nothing. It wasn't his decision to make, it didn't concern him yet.

"Fine". That was when he noticed Sarah holding a baby.

"Who's the kid"? John stood up and took his daughter from his mother and kissed her on her head. He walked over to Derek and turned her so Derek could see her.

"My adopted daughter. Another machine and I rescued her when the machines tried to kill her". John tickled her a little and she giggled.

"You want to meet your great uncle Derek, Allison"? That was when Derek saw the mole on her brow. His eyes widened and looked at Future John who nodded at him.

"She really is Allison".

"Yeah, she's beautiful isn't she".

"Yeah, you'll have to beat the boys off when she's older". He joked. Connor answered instead of John.

"I did have to beat boys off of her". Everyone laughed at that, not remembering how Connor found his Allison.

"Derek, you have some apologizing to do". John said as he change the subject. Everyone's eyes turned to Derek.

"Yeah, I guess I do". He said. "Where is he"?

"Follow me" He said while continuing to hold Allison. They all walked down the hall to the Evans room to see if they were still awake. John knocked on their door and waited for them to answer. Josh answered the door and stared at John for a second before greeting him.

"What can I do for you Connor"?

"I have someone here who needs to make an apology to Andy, and to you two".

"Who would that be"? Josh asked with curiosity in his voice.

"Me". Derek said as he stepped next to John. Josh swallowed hard at the sight of the man who he had learned to hate after Andy's death, the only reason he kept his cool was the fact Andy was alive.

"Is that so, is that the only reason Connor brought you back from the dead"? He said sarcastically.

"No, but I owe my best friend an apology".

"Best friend"?

"In the future". Josh stood aside and let him in, he wanted to see if this was going to be a real apology or if he was just going though the motions. He closed the door as the others went on. Derek stood in the middle of the room while Amanda glared daggers at him and Andy stared at him with curiosity.

"In the future, about 2027, my squad and I were sent out by Connor to find out what the metal was up to. We didn't know about it at the time, but they were gathering parts for the first TDE. The people in my squad consisted of a few men including my brother, Kyle Reese, and my best friend I considered a brother. His name was Billy Wisher. We were captured, all but my brother; We were taken to this house and chained to the floor, we only saw one machine, a late model 600 rubber skin. He took people one by one into the basement and we were tortured for information. When Billy came back he confessed to me, he told me that his real name was Andrew Goode. He built computers before J-Day and that he was part of a some secret team that ended up creating Skynet, and he was chief programmer. After we escaped and Connor told me that I was to be sent back in time he asked me to do him a favor, he asked me to make sure he didn't build Skynet, to make sure he wasn't responsible for the death of the human race. The only thing was he never specified how to do that, and the only thing I had really known for the past 16 years was death, and that was the only way I saw how to solve the problem, so I walked into that room and shot you twice, or at least I thought I did. It doesn't matter because I was still willing to do it".

Derek walked up to Andy and looked him right in the eye.

"I regretted what I did later not because I didn't stop the machines, but because I killed the one man I trusted and loved as much as Kyle". He paused for a second mulling over what he was going to finish with. "Saying sorry doesn't make up for what I did or was willing to do, and I don't know what will, but know this I will make up for it".

Derek finished and Andy stared into the eyes of the man everyone said killed him, who shot him down in cold blood. He hadn't been killed by him though, and this man was willing to change, willing to make up for it.

"You never killed me, so I can't be mad at you like they have a right to be. You were trying to save the world, I get that. Maybe now when you are confronted by a problem like this again you wont just point and shoot, but consider how you might solve your problem without killing people who haven't done anything wrong yet". Derek nodded, his face showing the regret he carried for so long.

"What is the point in fighting Skynet if all we do is act like it"? Amanda said, her opinion about this man had changed, he wasn't the monster she thought.

"We need to give everyone a reason why humanity should live, let that reason be that we have the capacity for compassion and love that so many need already. Traits that I have seen machines even display"! Josh said to Derek.

Derek closed his eyes in and thought of all the times he acted no better than his enemy, all the times he showed no love and no compassion to those who deserved it, all the times he was no different than the machines. He thought about how much he had lost over the years, his parents, his brother, Allison, countless other friends and fellow fighters, and the Jesse he loved, killed by a misunderstanding and replaced with a heartless woman hell bent on revenge. He had been given a second chance by his nephew, a nephew who loved him enough to risk his own future. Everything had taken it's toll on Derek's heart, and now it could take no more. He sank to his knees as tears fell down his face that was contorted in grief and pain.

Amanda took pity on this man who had been through more pain and suffering than any of them had, she knelt down with some help and put a hand on his shoulder, and Andy did the same. Josh just stood there, not sure what to think. He got down on his knee and put a hand on either shoulder, on top of the hands of his wife and friend. He thought about this man and what he had done, and what he was willing to do. He decided after much thought to give Derek a second chance as well.

* * *

John Connor slept through to about 10 the next morning until he was wakened by Allison once again slapping his face.

"Uhh, give me a minute princess". He said fighting the sleep out of his eyes.

"Momma"! She said as if she knew what today was going to bring.

"Yes I'm going to go get mommy soon, right after I eat and shave". John put Allison in her high chair and went to take care of business in the bathroom.

He came out to find his mother and Future John chatting over breakfast while his mother fed Allison.

"I guess no one believes in knocking". He said a little miffed by the lack of privacy.

"Sorry, old habit". Sarah said.

"I tried to tell her". Connor said to John.

"It doesn't matter right now, but mom for future reference knock first or lead might fly". Sarah looked at him while Connor smirked ever so slightly.

"When do you plan on leaving to get them"? Sarah asked as John ate the food his mother brought him.

"Right after I eat this". Sarah's face became worried.

"You know you're probably going to a world where everything is ash, and Skynet rules. I hope you thought through this enough to realize just how dangerous this is going to be". John set down his fork with a clank and stared at his mother.

"I will not leave her there, no one else is qualified to go and I am not letting those two go by themselves, I don't trust Weaver fully yet. It is my responsibility to get my soldiers back, it is my fault they got sent there". He took a long breath and let it out in frustration. "I know things have changed quickly, and I know I still have a ton to learn before I am anywhere near him". He said while pointing at Future John. "But I am not stupid, I have fought my fair share of machines, I can do this...I am doing this". He said as he picked all the plates up and took them to the mess hall.

"You need to have some confidence in him mom, you need to let him grow up".

"I know, but I still think he needs more experience".

"He's ahead with what he needs to know, he's doing fine".

"You would know I guess". Sarah sighed.

Everyone gathered in the hanger as John prepared to take off one last time in hope of finding their friends. It was daylight, but John Henry had figured out how to trick the satellite system in space to overlook this area for a short period of time. John said goodbye to everyone and he got onto the HK. The trio took off into the sky during one of the satellite openings and accelerated to the appropriate speed. As the emitters began to fire John had one thought running through his head.

_"I'm coming for you Cameron..."_

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter, John travels to the Salvation timeline and fights to get those he loves back...**

**REVIEW! Remember feedback is nice to have!**


	29. Reunion

**A/N: The chapter you have all been waiting for...**

****Just want to add that there is an idea in here that I used

from LoveMachineLX's "_All Creation_". If you've read it, you'll spot it immediately.

**Chapter 29: Reunion**

**July 25, 2019 Crystal Peak: Salvation timeline**

The helicopter landed on the cracked concrete of Crystal Peak's runway. The engines hummed as they powered down and everyone got out. Both man and machine surveyed the area for danger before they saw that they were alone. Cameron still wasn't herself, she was lost in pit of her own hopelessness and she really wasn't pay attention to her surroundings. Annika noticed her detachment and walked over to her.

"Hey, how are you doing". Cameron looked at her with dead eyes, eyes without hope. Annika needed to wake this cyborg up fast before she got herself killed. If Annika herself could function then so should someone who's loved one is not dead.

"Cameron, you need to focus, this attitude of yours is not going to get us home any faster". Cameron barely registered her words and Annika noticed. She decided to use more drastic measures and slapped the cyborg hard. _That_ got Cameron to focus and she stared at Annika in shock.

"We don't have time to sulk Cameron, get your head in the game". Cameron nodded very slowly in acknowledgement. She did her best to bury her feelings and focus on the task at hand, so she decided to take care of the first order of business. Cameron walked over to John Connor to ask why they were here.

"Were here so you can show me that time displacement crater and I need to show you something from my past". He said as he headed into the entrance carved out by the machines days earlier.

They turned on flash lights and looked around while Cameron showed the General the spherical hole in the middle of the rubble they had to dig themselves out of. He studied the hole for a minute before he lead them to the elevator. Only Connor, Cameron, Annika, the T-1000, Kyle, Barnes and Marcus went down below.

Connor took them to down into the old bunker and turned on the lights, of which only half worked. They walked down one of the corridors and passed through the barracks and continued to where the Terminator lab would have been in their time. Connor had a safe door installed on the entrance to the thick walled room. He spun the dial to the proper combination and they went in. The room was dark and small compared to the one from their timeline and it smelled like burnt metal. Connor turned on the lights and walked to the middle of the room where there was two metal tables covered in sheets, but something was under both sheets.

"What's under the sheets"? Marcus asked.

"I'll show you". Connor said as he ripped the sheet off the first table. Annika, The T-1000 and Cameron looked at it with curiosity, it was the remains of a T-850.

"What is that? A T-800"? Kyle spoke, he had not been shown this before and he was curious.

"No, it's the upgraded version called the T-850, heavier armored, stronger actuators and servos, dual chip assembly with upgraded programming". The T-1000 rambled off like out of a book.

"So this exists in your timeline too? Figures...".

"It does, just like the T-1000 exists in yours and ours". Cameron confirmed

"I still find it weird that he looks exactly the same".

"So did the T-800 Model 101" Cameron added.

"They did the same here in this timeline, I fought the first Model 101 and it looked the same as the one from my childhood and the one that tried to kill my mother".

"Skynet is weird" Kyle said. Cameron and Annika nodded. John Connor snorted a laugh.

Marcus was getting all this time travel stuff thanks to the computer half of himself. Barnes got most of it, he was with Connor when they finally unearthed it and he had been told the story.

"So is time travel". Connor said while looking at Annika. "Do you remember when I said I recognized you"?

"Yes, you said I should be missing my head and that I was in a safe". Connor nodded and tore off the other sheet. Cameron'e eyes widened and Annika gasped. The T-1000 tilted his head and walked over to the machine. He looked at a series of numbers stamped on the breastplate.

"It has the same serial number as you Annika". Annika and Cameron weren't surprised by that, they had been expecting it after they saw it. The rest of the room was confused.

"I guess you were right about the Repeater being accidentally switched on". Cameron said to Annika.

"Wait, are you saying that this machine lying on the table is the same one standing over there"? Marcus spoke up.

"Yes, she told us that the TDE she was sent back with was an advanced version called the ATDE with a feature that copied the subject to every timeline that came after the one it was being sent back to". Cameron said to the Hybrid.

"That makes sense I guess, we know that bridging timelines is possible since you are here". Connor said while looking at Annika.

Annika walked over and examined her endoskeleton from this time and place. The head was gone as was most of the neck, the legs were detached and the right arm had significant damage, it looked like it had been crushed partly. The rest of the machine was intact though.

"What destroyed her"? Annika asked curiously.

"I wasn't there to witness it, but I'm pretty sure the T-850 shoved his last fuel cell into her mouth and detonated it". Annika cringed a little at the image that produced in her chip.

"Ouch".

"Yeah, we took out Skynet Central with a about thirty T-800 fuel cells of them last year". Kyle said remembering when John had explained what they were.

Annika realized something, this machine could work if they had a head, or it would be good spare parts for her.

"Would you mind if we work in this"? She pointed to the endo.

"Why? It's not much use without a head".

"No, but the T-1000 might be able to control the body if we repair it". The T-1000 looked at her curiously but answered anyway.

"I could do it. All I need to do is hook myself up to the severed spinal column and we need to cap off the plasma conduits going to the head. I will reattach the legs using myself so we don't have to disassemble the legs".

"What about the arm, it looks damaged". Cameron said to Annika.

"We will have to use the sensors in the body to find out the extent of the damage, but it looks repairable".

"Why are you doing this in the first place"? Barnes asked out of the blue.

"Because I'm curious". Annika said back to him. "You could reactivate the T-850 if you transplant his head onto the T-800 we captured". She said as she turned back to Connor.

"No, he asked me not to, I activated him on some of our equipment after we dug out this place".

"Then I suggest destroying it so Skynet doesn't get a hold of that next generation hyper alloy, it is superior to that of the T-800".

"Barnes, get the thermite out of the chopper".

"You keep thermite in there"? Cameron said with her head tilted.

"We use it to burn though locks at Skynet's facilities, should melt this though".

"Yes, thermite will melt any T-8xx endo". Cameron said as she was putting the left leg into place.

Marcus took the heavy T-850 endo out of the room outside so Barnes and Connor could burn it without being asphyxiated by the fumes. The Terminator trio worked on the T-X body as quickly as they could. The T-1000 had the legs reattached within ten minutes while Annika took apart the base of the neck and looped the plasma conduits so the system wouldn't leak. Cameron assisted where she could between the two others. By the time the other three returned they were finished with it.

"You three finished that fast". Connor pointed out.

"It helps when your working on your own body". Annika said with a smirk on her face.

"Will it work"? Kyle asked the blonde machine. Annika just shrugged and turned to the T-1000.

"I need to give you the drivers for the body". She stuck out her hand and it became silver and liquid like. The T-1000 did the same and took her hand, the data flowed between them and it was over in about a minute. The T-1000 let go and processed everything for a second before putting his hand on the severed ends of the spinal column. He isolated them and connected to each one, using the downloaded data as a map to figure out which one did which. He figured out which one controlled the plasma reactor and he began connect to its small controlling computer and assess it's condition. It seemed to be in working order so he commanded it to restart. The body hummed as the reactor began to draw power from it's secondary power source to start itself. A few seconds later the body began to glow in places. The T-1000 ran a diagnostic and found that everything was okay except the weapon arm, but that damage could be fixed with the proper tools back home.

"Everything seems to be fine, only the right forearm has damage". He reported back to the group.

"Good, can you coat it and control it"? Connor asked the LMT who just nodded in response.

"It would slow down reaction time too much though, I would be essentially controlling two bodies". He said as he shut down the body and withdrew his MPA from it. Connor decided it was time to go, he had the information he was seeking, and now they needed to get back to base.

Marcus Wright was sitting down looking at the two groups, neither of which he belonged in. On one side he saw a group of machines, machines that supposedly worked for some version of the resistance, and the other was the humans, a group of humans he cared about. The brown haired machine had said he was a Hybrid, the perfect example of human and machines cooperating. He didn't know whether he was an abomination or just another form of life. Life was made easier by those who loved him like Blair, Star, and Kyle. He wondered just how he fit into the resistance, whether he would be accepted at all. He needed to sort out his life, something he really hadn't done since before he died...the first time. He let out a sigh and took the last elevator to the top with Cameron and Connor. They walked down the hall into the remnants of the hanger. He looked over at the brown haired beauty and asked her a question.

"What is it like"? She looked at him with a blank face, but he could tell that blank face held life.

"Like to what"? She asked him.

"To be a machine, is it like being human"?

"That is hard to describe, I don't know what it's like to be human". She paused and looked at his face, she knew that he was having a hard time dealing with his transformation. "What is it like to be you"?

He shifted his jaw before answering.

"I feel like I used to, I don't feel pain as much, but I understand more than before".

"Like what we said before, you are the best of both worlds Marcus, you may not be accepted by everyone and I know what that is like. I also know you know what it's like to be seen as a monster, as something less than human, to be feared or looked down upon by others, but you have people who love you, people who accept you for who you are".

"As do you". She smiled as she thought of John and Allison and how they accepted her in every way shape and form.

"Yes, I do".

Marcus felt a little better after that, he found it funny that the machine made a darn good therapist. He felt much better when he spotted Blair, he went over and kissed her.

"Did Connor show you his toys"? She said to him smiling.

"Yeah, had a pretty good story to go with it too". She kissed him again.

"Lets go". He picked up some gear and they all began to head for the entrance. Connor was barely out the door when he heard an all too familiar whine in the air.

He froze and switched the safety off of his weapon. He heard the HK's plasma weapon charging and he turned around and shoved everyone back in.

"INCOMING". He yelled as the helicopter got blown up by a plasma bolt.

Barnes was ticked and he pointed his rifle at the machines.

"It's a trap, and you three set it, I knew we couldn't trust you"! Cameron stepped in front of Annika so she wouldn't get shot and answered him.

"No we didn't and we are about to prove to you all we are not your enemy". She looked at Connor and chose the words she would say next carefully.

"We have known each other for a short time, but I am asking you to trust me and my friends. I will not let any you die". She said with steely determination. Connor saw the sincerity in her eyes and nodded curtly.

"Then lets do it". He said as he threw her his side arm.

They all got their weapons ready. The humans and Marcus had various assault rifles with armor piercing rounds while Cameron had John's Glock and a titanium beam from a destroyed helicopter that had been in the hanger. The T-1000 had it's dual swords formed on its arms. Annika had her plasma shotgun ready and had withdrawn her sheath, something that most in the room hadn't seen before. Annika growled a little and narrowed her blazing blue eyes as she saw the HK-Transport land outside. Connor felt a chill run down his spine at that feral growl he remembered so well, he knew that what ever was coming at them was in serious trouble if it screwed with her. Connor and all the other humans took cover behind rubble while Cameron and Annika hid behind one big boulder directly in the line of sight of the entrance, they wanted to surprise the enemy...

The T-1000 was disguised as the floor in front of the door, waiting for the machines to arrive.

"Connor, what kind of machines can we expect"? Cameron yelled over to the general.

"800s, and maybe a few 700s".

"Weaponry"?

"Mostly projectile weapons, but we have heard rumors about hand held plasma versions being mass produced".

"If they have, hopefully we can get you some and we can take them out faster". He gave his approval and focused on the entrance because this maybe the toughest battle he had fought yet...

* * *

**July 25, 2019: Salvation timeline (1 hour before attack on Crystal Peak)**

The ruins of San Francisco still smoldered from the nuclear explosion months before that destroyed Skynet Central, no one and nothing was left in the downtown sector. A spark of blue light appeared above the ruins and exploded into a ball of blue light and thunder before a small black machine came flying out of it at high speed. It stopped and hovered about a quarter mile away as if surveying it's surroundings.

John Connor got his bearings after the time travel and looked around, what he saw shocked him. He saw the devastation of the city and struggled to comprehend what he saw, everything was gone, wiped away by a nuclear broom. Swept away by the weapons created to protect them. He let out a ragged breath before shoving down the emotions rising in him.

"My God..." John Henry said. John looked down on the drone he was on with surprise.

"What is it John Henry"? He said into the mic in his helmet.

"I thought about what this might look like, seeing it for myself is... surreal".

"I know, I feel like that too". He said in a somber voice. '_Billions dead, and we can't stop it' _John thought to himself.

"What's the date"

"July 25, 2019, we don't have much time before her signal disappears".

"How much"?

"A little over an hour".

"Crap, John Henry hit the gas"! John Henry turned the drone and hit maximum power, nearly 400 miles per hour and headed toward Crystal Peak.

"Be ready for battle Mr. Connor, we may have to fight to get them back".

"I know". John's face hardened as he prepared himself for what was to come.

* * *

The T-1000 watched from the floor as fifty T-800 endoskeletons came out of the transport HK, all with the new plasma rifles. He knew his body could take a few shots at time, but he could only take so much.

"Fifty T-800's all have the new rifles". Everyone cursed at that, they all knew how deadly plasma was from the experience with the harvesters and the HKs.

The machines walked into the hole and entered the room. They tried finding targets but saw none they could lock onto. When about six of them were in the room, Annika jumped over the boulder and locked onto the closest machine and shot him in the head with her plasma shotgun, causing it's head to explode. She landed facing them and shot another before they even had a lock on her. She dived to the floor right afterwards as plasma shots impacted the boulders behind her. Annika picked up one of the plasma rifles with lightning speed and threw it behind the boulder. Annika shot another from the floor before she got up and continued shredding endoskulls with her FRCG.

Cameron caught the rifle and inspected it. She grinned a little at having her favorite weapon in her hands once more before she swung around the boulder to take a shot. She took down two machines before she moved back behind to avoid the incoming shots. The others peaked out to take brief spurts at the machines to distract them. The T-1000 decided to join the fight as a surprise attack as he rose up and shot a sword underneath one of the T-800 breastplates and severed the power lines to his body from the power cells. He shot another arm up and grabbed the plasma rifle and shot the one in front of it in the head. Annika continued her rampage, but a few managed to hit her breast plate and abdominal armor, having no effect but to make her even more mad.

"Marcus"! Cameron yelled as she tossed the Hybrid the plasma rifle. Cameron picked up the rod and got ready to go to town.

"Cover me"! She yelled and everyone got ready. She jumped out as everyone started firing at the machines, Marcus taking down the closest ones. She ran out with the sharp, narrow beam and stabbed a T-800 right in the right eye, destroying the chip. She jumped up into the air doing a back flip while pulling the rod out of the terminator. She landed on her feet and looked up at the machines with her eyes blazing blue.

"Time to die metal". She said as she stabbed another T-800 under the breast plate, severing the power line from the power cells. She fell to the floor to avoid more shots and then picked up another rifle before throwing it behind the rubble where John Connor was. Connor picked up the rifle and looked it over, he had seen how it was used from the T-850's memories so he put his finger on the trigger and took aim. He fired off a round at a machine, severing its upper spinal column and depriving its chip of power. He smiled as he thought about how easy it was to take them down with their own weapons.

The T-1000 had taken a few plasma shots, but this new body could take it, he absorbed them a continued on fighting, but he needed to be careful about how many he took or his nanites would shut down from too much heat. He jumped on another machine, oozing it's way inside his chest cavity and cutting all the wires he could. He jumped off of it as plasma shots slammed into the machine. He slithered up another and did the same. He was hit again with a plasma shot and he liquefied to avoid more. A few seconds later he had cooled enough so he took a plasma rifle and threw it to Barnes position. Barnes picked up the rifle and examined it for a second before firing a test shot into the the crowd of machines in front of them. He landed one in the breast plate of an 800, but didn't do too much damage, a mistake he quickly rectified as he shot again at the machine when it looked at him.

"Hasta la vista baby". He said as he downed another before taking cover.

Annika had taken about twenty hits total so far, but none were powerful enough to harm her. She growled every time she was shot and dished out even more than she received. She put away her plasma weapon to go into full hand-to-hand mode. She punched a T-800 in the chest sending him flying into others, causing them all to fall. She ran forward and punched another's head off before kicking another into the wall. She picked up two more rifles and threw them behind the rubble to the resistance fighters. Two machines charged her but she grabbed their necks and spun them around so she could put both of their heads between her legs and crushed their skulls with her powerful legs. The Resistance was winning now that over two-thirds of the machines had fallen. Annika's thoughts of victory were interrupted by a sound outside that indicated that another transport was coming.

"Another transport incoming"! She yelled over the firefight.

"Take care of it"! Cameron yelled at her while she stabbed another machine in the right eye. Annika ran outside while Cameron took on another machine by sweeping its feet from under it. She jumped in the air again and slammed the rod into it's eye. She felt satisfied when she watched the other dim to black. That second pause allowed one of the other machines to lock on and fire. Cameron yelped as the round tore into her, vaporizing a fist sized whole on her lower back. Lucky for her the improved spine took the heat no problem and she pulled the rod out and threw it like a spear at the machine's weapon, it went threw the barrel and into the insides causing an overload, lucky for everyone in the room it's power pack was low and it exploded with the force of a grenade and not a block of C4. Cameron had been behind cover by the time that happened though. While she was next to Connor she noticed that he momentarily looked at her small spine with curiosity before turning back to the battle. He took out two more before disappearing behind cover again.

Cameron back flipped over the cover and grabbed what was left of her rod that was lying on the ground before she speared another machine. Cameron's movements were much faster now since she had been reprogrammed by John, thus making her more effective in battle. Lately she had combined the ballet she had learned with fighting styles taken from Sarah Connor and the terminators. She took down machine after machine with her titanium spear while avoiding plasma shots. Unfortunately for her one of the machines had learned a lot about her fighting patterns and predicted where she would strike next. The machine dodged the spear thrust and countered with a slap to the spear that sent it out of her hands. She was stunned at the move and tried to recover, but the machine had its weapon ready and fired. Cameron was thrown back to the ground as the round vaporized a fist sized hole just below where her breast plate ended. She had been leaning back from when the machine slapped her weapon away that it allowed the shot to hit vital systems under the breastplate. Cameron screamed as pain seared through her chip...

Annika ran outside and looked for the approaching machines. She saw two escort HKs and one transport HK. She ran out onto the run way and transformed her arm into the plasma cannon. She took aim at one of the escorts and fired. The round tore through it's right engine and it lost control. It crashed about 60 feet from her, while the other two went higher to avoid the danger. The escort still in the sky accelerated to avoid Annika from locking on to it. It began to take shots at her with its own plasma weapon, but she took cover behind the crashed drone to avoid the shot. She ran back for the bunker because the drones fuel tanks were not something she wanted to be around if they were hit directly. She ran back as fast as she could, but the drone locked on and fired. Annika barely had time to dive to the side before the shot hit the ground next to her, causing her to be thrown into the mountainside. She got up and went inside before she got shot again. When she did she was just in time to see her friend get shot by the machine and then screamed out in pain. She growled in anger as she charged the 800 that dared hurt her friend. She grabbed its weapon and crushed it in her hand before she punched the machine into the opposite wall and shot him with her cannon, obliterating his head. The T-1000 and the others dispatched the last two as Annika dropped to her knees and picked up the cyborg. Cameron was crying as vital systems in her chest were barely holding on from the damage. She set her down on a flat slab of rock to examine the damage.

"It hurts...". Cameron whimpered out Annika looked into the wound. Her scanners showed that the iridium power cell control circuitry was intact, but there was fluctuations in power, some of the outgoing power lines themselves had singed insulation and were arcing with one another as they touched. Cameron's power supply would fail from the stress of the short circuiting if they didn't stop the arcing, or worse, it might explode. Annika signaled for the T-1000 to come over.

"I need you to unplug the power lines from the power distribution case to her legs, those are the ones that are arcing". The T-1000 went in and formed a special tool to pull the lines that were damaged. Cameron's pain quit and she quieted down. Cameron gave a thankful look to her friends for relieving her of the pain.

"Is she okay"? Connor asked the T-X.

"Yes, but she is paralyzed from the hips on down".

"That's not good when you have enemy metal flying around. How's the battle outside"?

"Not good, I manged to take down one, but the escort caught on to my tactics and is too high for me to take down".

"We cant hide in here forever". Barnes spoke up. "They will find a way to destroy us".

"They will" The T-1000 said with certainty. As soon as he finished the mountain rumbled as a plasma shot impacted it. Rocks fell from the ceiling as it threatened to collapse from the shot.

"There going to collapse the mountain on top of us"! Kyle yelled.

"We need to get out of here Connor. We cant stay here." Marcus said in his rather worried voice. Connor ground his jaw as both man and machine waited for his decision.

"Annika is their any cover out there"?

"None that wont explode". Connor sighed as another shot hit and more rock fell.

"I predict it will collapse in two more shots". The T-1000 yelled out while dodging bits of the falling ceiling.

"We can't go into the bunker, they will only regroup and hunt us down like fish in a barrel, we have to fight". Everyone agreed.

"LET'S GO"! Kyle shouted. The T-1000 smirked at the man's bravery.

"I'll go first". He said as he turned into a snake and rushed out the entrance. He drew the HK's fire out from the humans exiting the excavated hanger. Connor went next and then Barnes followed by Blair. Marcus picked up Cameron.

"Hurry! Get her out of here the whole place it about to go"! Annika yelled at Marcus before he rushed out of the mountain with Cameron, Annika was about to follow when the front of the hanger caved in on her. She didn't have time to react as the mountain buried her under tons of rubble...

"ANNIKA"! Connor heard the yell behind him as the part of the mountain collapsed. _"crap, not good" _John thought. He hoped she would survive, he knew that she was special, different, just like Marcus.

"Connor, were exposed out here"! Barnes yelled at Connor.

"Fire at that thing, keep it distracted". He yelled as the HK took another shot. Ground exploded around them and dirt and concrete went flying.

"Is everyone alright"? Connor yelled. That was when he heard Marcus yell Blair's name.

Marcus set down Cameron as he rushed to his loves side. He knelt down by her side and examined her injuries. He activated his HUD and scanned her vitals. She was alright, but the shrapnel from the concrete had tore into her left side and arm. She was breathing heavily from the pain, but she was managing well considering. Marcus had to protect Blair and Cameron, but with no cover there was no point. The HK was coming around for another pass and it was locking on to Cameron who was in the middle of their group. Cameron looked up at the thing as the men fired at the drone with no effect. She closed her eyes and whispered softly to herself.

"I'm sorry John..." She said as a tear slid down her face and she waited for the inevitable...

* * *

John Connor and John Henry were pushing the drone to it's limits. John was watching the timer count down to when Cameron's signal disappeared, and he didn't have very long.

"How long"?

"ETA 20 seconds"

"The signal disappears in twenty five"!

"I know, but this is the best I can do Mr. Connor". John knew machines didn't screw around, so he left him alone.

"Get the weapons ready, I have a feeling were going to run into Skynet soon". John noticed the Vulcan 20mm started rotating in preparation to fire.

"Two aerial targets ahead, one is going in for a shot"!

"Shoot it down now"! John said as the timer was a few seconds from zero. John Henry locked on to the escort drone and fired, tearing the engine and tail to pieces and it exploded in a ball of fire...

* * *

Cameron heard the cannon fire and the explosion. She quickly opened her eyes and saw the last thing she expected to see, _Their time traveling HK drone._ She followed it with her eyes when it banked and she got a good look at the driver, as soon as she saw him she knew that it could be only one person.

"John..." She said as she pushed herself up. The T-1000 looked to the sky and confirmed it for himself.

"Who's flying that thing"? Connor asked Cameron as knelt down beside her.

"My John". She said proudly. Connor's eyes widened considerably...

* * *

John Connor was relieved when the drone exploded in mid air. He looked down and the HUD in his helmet zoomed in on the group. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Cameron still moving. He refocused on the task at hand because there was still another HK to take care of.

"John Henry, I think we should capture that other HK, we need to get those people out of here before Skynet comes back".

"I can hack in, but to do so will require all my processing power to keep Skynet out".

"I will take control". John Henry did so wordlessly and John soon felt what it was like to be one of these things. He turned, changed speed ordered things scanned by the sensor array; it was incredible...

John flew at slower speed and kept his eye on the transport HK. Its engines sputtered and it began to lose control as John Henry hacked his way in and took over. The machine came back to life and stabilized.

"We should land and let the machines out, they will cut communications and run it manually if we don't".

"Do it, we will tear most apart with the Vulcan". John watched as the machine set down in the valley. T-800's with plasma rifles poured out of the machine and began firing at him and those on the ground. John swerved and spiraled to avoid the shots while he locked on and let a rip with the 20mm incendiary explosive rounds, taking out a third of the machines in one pass. John knew he had to be careful with this thing or there would be no getting home. He took the drone out of range of the plasma weapons. He swung in for another pass and took out ten more machines, but one of the 800s got a lucky shot and clipped the front stabilizing wing (the one that rotated around the front of the drone in Desert Cantos). The piece tore off and hit John's helmet, going right through it.

John Henry had just finished establishing permanent control over the transport when he heard a pain filled cry from John Connor. He noticed that the drone began to lose control too. The damaged helmet and front stabilizer were causing a multitude of problems. He quickly took control of the drone to keep them from crashing.

"Mr. Connor are you alright"? He heard heavy breathing though the mic.

"No, shrapnel pierced the helmet, it's stuck in my face". John managed to get out. Weaver heard the commotion and popped off a panel to get to the future leader of mankind. She slithered up and saw the piece sticking out of the left side of the helmet. She pulled it, removed the helmet and let it fall, it was destroyed anyway. Weaver looked at the Y-shaped wound and her mouth hung open in surprise because the shape was the same as that of Future John's. Weaver didn't even try to calculate those odds, she knew to appear in that exact shape as before was nearly impossible. She looked at him and saw there was little blood from the wound due to it being cauterized from the super heated metal. She put a liquid metal bandage on the wound and told John Henry to land.

"I know Mrs. Weaver, I have too. The stabilizer can't take much more". He said through the vocal synthesizer on the drone. JH guided the drone to just in front and above the soldiers as he fired off one last salvo at the machines before setting down. In all they had destroyed 45 of the 50 machines and the T-1000 and resistance soldiers were making quick work of them.

Weaver took John off the machine after JH released the clamps from his body. Cameron was trying to crawl over to him, she was frantic at seeing him injured.

John Connor finally disconnected the pain and shook his head clear of the cobwebs. He motioned for Weaver to put him down.

"Help them". She nodded curtly before taking off as a snake to assist her brother in taking down the last machines. John stumbled from the headache he had but he managed to get over to Cameron. He stopped in front of her and saw that she was paralyzed from the waist down. He got down on his knees and pulled her up to him. She stared at him with those big brown eyes, neither knowing what to say.

"John..." She said in a whisper. He pulled her up more and kissed her. He didn't care if it made the wound hurt like hell, he missed her and she missed him. They drank heavily on each others kisses until John needed to breath.

"I missed you so much... Allison and I thought we'd never see you again". Cameron smiled in his arms and cupped the good side of his face with her hand.

"You can't get rid of me that easily John". His smile disappeared as he felt the injury in her side.

"How bad"? He asked in a worried tone.

"Not bad, they had to unplug a few wires that got melted together from the shot, but I'll be fine". He was still concerned though, but Cameron's face saddened when she thought of Annika.

"John, Annika got buried in the cave in". John's eyes widened in horror, she couldn't be dead, not when the one she needed was alive and waiting for her, not when life was about to get better for her.

"Is she..."? Cameron shook her head.

"I don't know, but we need to get in there quick".

"How far in is she"? He asked.

"No more than ten feet". John ground his jaw and clenched his brow. He picked up Cameron and set her down on the drone.

"I'll be back". He said as he walked away to save one of his soldiers.

"Weaver, T-1000". He called out in a commanding tone. Both LMT's faced him. "We need to get Annika out of the mountain now". Both nodded and went followed him to the entrance. The LMTs began to ooze in and expand to dislodge boulders. Then they carried them out and set them aside.

"We could use plasma rifles". The T-1000 pointed out. John went to get some of the ones lying by all the dead T-800 endos. As he was nearing his destination he was approached by a man with dark hair and brown eyes. John stopped and looked at the man who had the same scar as Future John had, and himself as he traced the wound on his face.

"What are you doing"? The man asked in a gruff voice.

"I need plasma rifles to dig out my friend". John studied the man for a second before asking him his name.

"Same as your's kid". John was surprised initially, but figured that the difference in appearances was due to the fact they were so many timelines back from his own.

"We don't look the same". John said.

"No but it seems fate has bestowed us the same gift". His alternate self said while pointing to his scar. John snorted a laugh as continued to find intact plasma rifles.

"How did you get yours"?

"T-800 prototype clawed me". John winced at that.

"Ouch" Connor just nodded. "Do you mind if I get my soldier out of that mountain". Connor shook his head no.

"I'll help". He said as both picked up several plasma rifles. The John Connors walked over to the entrance and handed the weapons to the LMTs. They began to blast away the rock until they hit something metal.

"It's her" Weaver said as she moved rocks off her head. It moved a little and looked at them.

"Annika". John said as he kneeled down next to her and put a hand on her head.

"John"? She said in a surprised voice.

"It's me Annika, were here to take you home". Weaver interrupted their conversation.

"We need to hurry, more rock is falling off the mountain and onto the cave in, her endoskeleton can't take much more". A few rocks fell in the entrance, the hole that they blasted away wasn't going to last much longer either.

"John go, I'm not worth saving"! John grew angry with her attitude, it's one he recognized well within himself.

"Yes you are, I didn't build that time machine and do what I did just to let you die". Before she could ask what he meant he stood up and blasted rock away from her with his plasma rifle.

"Weaver, I need you and your brother to keep this cave open long enough to get her out"! She nodded curtly and she and the T-1000 formed a support structure that would hold up everything for just a little while longer.

"Connor! Help me pull her out"! The two John Connor's pulled hard and she broke free. They pulled her out by her arms and backpedaled as fast as they could. They made it out just as the small cavern caved in. The LMTs oozed their way out of the rubble no problem and both took their typical shapes.

John examined her body and found that her left ankle joint was crushed. She too could not walk and he let out a sigh, both his love and his friend had been hurt badly, but at least they were alive.

"I don't leave my soldiers behind Annika". He and Connor helped her to her feet. John supported her on one side and Connor the other. They helped her over to where Cameron was and let her sit on the drone.

"Thank you John, I appreciate it".

"No problem". He said as he hugged the machine that had given so much to them. He walked over to Cameron's side and kissed her, both still needing each other after what felt like an eternity apart. Connor stared at them, but didn't say anything, it wasn't his business anyhow.

"I need to work out what we are going to do, the drone is damaged and needs to be fixed".

"I know John, I would suggest asking Marcus Wright if you need more help to move anything heavy".

"Why? Is he a machine"? Connor answered for Cameron instead.

"No, he is something else entirely". John gave him a look that said he didn't understand.

"He's a human-machine hybrid John". John raised his eyebrow at that.

"A human turned into a machine"? Both nodded.

"I will have to meet him then".

"First things first, we need to get out of here". John smiled and looked at the drone.

"You got that under control"?

"Yes Mr. Connor I do". Cameron and Annika jumped when they heard that voice.

"You brought John Henry"? Cameron asked.

"Yeah, didn't know he added chip ports in this thing until he told me".

"I didn't have time to tell you, it was a last minute addition" Annika said.

"You have a terminator in this thing"? Connor asked incredulously.

"No, he's a home grown AI Weaver built, brother of our Skynet actually". Connor was a little concerned at that, something John noticed.

"He has morals and ethics, a former FBI agent taught him all about the Bible, he saw human life as valuable and wanted to fight with us, that and the fact our Skynet tried to kill him twice".

"Is that so"?

"Trying to fly drones loaded with thermite into your building isn't considered friendly". John Henry said. Connor smirked ever so slightly at the AI's attempt at humor.

"What was your plan for getting us out of here"? The general said trying to get the conversation back on track.

"JH hacked into the transport HK and reprogrammed it, all you have to do is give us is a destination".

"Good plan". Connor thought for a second and decided to continue. "I want you and the redhead to come with me". Weaver glared at him.

"My name is Catherine Weaver, not redhead". John went up to his other self and spoke into his ear.

"She doesn't like nick names, she hates it when I call her adopted daughter Savvy". Connor nodded and continued over to the group of humans he considered his closest friends.

"Everyone listen up, this is the alternate version of myself the three machines know, he's also the ones who saved us, and has arranged a way out of here".

Barnes looked skeptical, as always, but when he looked into the young man's eyes he saw the same fire there that made him join up with Connor. He decided he would watch him closely to see if this metal lover was anything like his Connor.

Marcus was carrying Blair who was still in pain, he came over to the Johns with a desperate look on his face.

"We need to get her out of here before infection sets in".

"Okay, and you are"? John asked.

"Marcus Wright, and this is Blair". John took a quick look at Blairs wound before agreeing with him, they needed to move out fast. Connor introduced him to the other two, including Kyle. John thought that this Kyle Reese looked like a brother to the Kyle Reese that was his father. ( Cameron had drawn him a picture of him for John. ) Everyone began to load up on the open spot in the middle of the monstrous drone. This was where the T-800s had been before they got off. The two LMTs moved the two injured terminators onto the ship while JH slowly moved the drone onto the ship. The HK-transport had a handle bars like those on a subway to hold onto in case the ride got bumpy, but nowhere to really sit. There were flaps on the side that closed to encase the those inside to protect them during flight, and to keep them from being sucked into the massive jet engines intake. The ship was not armed but was pretty fast for its size.

"I need to get base on the radio or they'll think they are under attack". Connor said in a concerned tone to his younger alternate self.

"John Henry, can you patch them in"?

"Yes Mr. Connor, I can do so". He paused for a second while he established the connections with HK's radio array. "Tell me a frequency and I'll patch you in".

"9600 kHz".

"Go ahead, you're live".

"Connor to Eagles Nest over". Static was heard before a male voice was heard out of the small HK's voice synthesizer.

"_Eagles Nest here, confirm pass code"_

_"_Alpha 479 Beta over_"_

_"Confirmed, what can I do for you Connor"?_

_"_We are heading back, we have wounded from a surprise Skynet attack, not critical_"._

_"What is your ETA"?_

"About thirty minutes, I need to warn you that the helicopter was destroyed, we are flying a captured enemy aircraft".

"_I won't even ask how you pulled that off, what kind of aircraft sir_"?

"HK-Transport, escorts were destroyed in battle".

"_I suggest you land outside the range of the defense towers sir, we will have transportation ready to pick you up_".

"We will land one mile outside boundaries, north of the base".

"_Affirmative, Eagle Nest out_".

* * *

A/N: READ AND REVIEW!


	30. Good News For A Change

A/N: See my profile for a link to an image for later in this chapter, it will explain a lot about what I am referring to about Cameron's anatomy.

**Chapter 30: Good News For A Change**

The rest of the trip was uneventful, evidently Skynet's resources were still spread thin and obviously they were not pursuing. They landed the monster machine outside of the towers range and JH powered it down. They disconnected the computer from it's power supply so Skynet couldn't access it again. When they heard the roar of SUVs heading their way everyone got off. Marcus carried Blair while John carried Cameron and the LMTs supported Annika. John Henry stayed put so no one would fire at him. When the medical SUV pulled up, Kate Connor jumped out and rushed to her husband.

"Are you okay John"? She said to him, Connor kissed her as his answer.

"I need you to look at Blair, she has shrapnel embedded in her side". She nodded and went to take care of Blair. Connor went over and talked to some of his officers to tell them that they need to allow the smaller HK in the maintenance bay so it can be repaired. They opened the entrance and John Henry flew himself inside before powering down.

The 1xxx duo put Annika in the terminator lab with John and Cameron before getting permission from Connor to commence repairs on the drones stabilizing swivel wing. The mechanics in the shop were wary of the two nearly invincible machines as they worked on the drone, but Connor assured them that they would not be harmed.

Weaver removed the wing while the T-1000 heated up a cutting torch. They got some scrap hyper-alloy from the junked T-800s they had there so they could repair the wing. About an hour later they had the wing patched, ground down, and polished to perfection. They reattached it and Weaver stood guard while the T-1000 went to see if he could assist in repairs with the girls.

Annika had been set on a table and Cameron was in a chair. Cameron told John that he needed to repair Annika while she went in standby to clear her mind of the the sensory garbage in her head. John agreed and kissed her sweetly on the lips before she closed her eyes. He walked over to the table where the T-X was laying, the poor machine hadn't spoken a word in hours. She just laid there and stared at the ceiling.

"Annika". John said softly and she turned to look at him with her blue glowing eyes.

"Yes"? She said in a soft but sad voice.

"We need to work on your ankle". She nodded as she began her explanation.

"The armor plate is bent in and has damaged the ball and socket joint and one of the actuators".

"How hard is it going to be to fix"?

"Very hard, to even be able to get the metal back into it's proper shape it will need to be heated up to several thousand degrees and then I will have to reshape it myself".

"At least I can help you disassemble it".

"Yes, sometimes it's nice to have help". John chuckled at that.

"Yeah it is".

John began to help her disassemble the damaged joint. While he was prying off the armor Annika wondered how long it had taken John to find them so she asked him as he was removing the damaged armor plate.

"John, how long did it take you to find us"? John stopped his work and looked up at Annika's big blue eyes.

"I left early July 25, 2009 and I took an hour for us to get back to Crystal Peak". Annika's eyes glowed brighter before she opened her metal mouth to talk.

"Three days? I thought it would take longer to figure out how to bridge timelines much less find us".

"We had help". John was keeping secrets again and it made Annika feel untrusted. she huffed out a breath from her fake respiratory system.

"John..." She said in an annoyed tone. John realized he was being unnecessarily secretive again, so he rectified the situation.

"Let me right it down". He pulled out a pen from the pocket of his suit and found some old scrap paper. He showed it to Annika who tilted her head.

"Really"?

"None of us were expecting him to be there, and he helped us find you, keep it on the down low though, I want it to be a surprise for Cameron".

"Good thing she's in standby".

"I didn't say his name because I didn't know if she would wake up or not".

"I wouldn't know, she is as different as I am".

"Yeah" John paused for a second and remembered he owed her the truth about the purpose of the drone, but he wasn't sure he wanted to ruin the surprise, but she needed hope and it wasn't fair to keep it from her; in fact it would be down right cruel.

"Me, Weaver, and JH did four time jumps before we came here. We didn't know enough about this time machine to traverse time lines properly so we had to do some normal ones first".

"So"?

"So instead of doing a few little jumps, we performed the mission that it was originally intended for, plus another".

"Are you going to tell me like you promised". She sounded miffed still that he kept a big secret like that while letting others less trust worthy know it.

"Yes, but I'm not sure you'll believe me".

"John I have no reason to doubt you". John sighed and hit the damaged joint one last time and it separated. He disconnected the cables going to the foot and removed it. He handed it to Annika.

"We saved two people in the past, but kept the timeline intact. You knew both of them". They were interrupted by the T-1000 walking in, he walked over to Annika and asked her if she wanted him to jump start her sheath. She just nodded and allowed his MPA to interact with the reservoirs in her skull. He pulled back and they watched as her sheath reactivated. John got the cloths that she was wearing before and handed them to her. Once she was dressed she stood up normally, her MPA had compensated for the removal of her foot by forming one but she had to be careful or it would warp out of shape. John helped her take on part of the weight as they walked to the garage. He told the T-1000 to guard Cameron while they fixed Annika's foot. While they were walking Annika picked up the conversation where it left off.

"Who did you save John"? She asked with curious look on her face. John let out a breath as he thought of the best way to answer her.

"One of them you hate, my uncle Derek Reese". Annika stopped in the middle of the corridor, her hands had formed fists and her body started shaking from anger. She looked up at him with eyes full of betrayal, hurt, and pain.

"How...how could you"? Her voice shook as she spoke. John turned around and put a hand on her shoulder, his eyes full of understanding as he stared into her pained blue ones.

"I did it because he is my uncle, and we need his experience, but you're forgetting that I saved one other person".

"Who"? Her voice sounded indifferent and clearly showed the anger she held for him at the moment. He gently turned her head to face him before he answered her question.

"The reason that this time machine was built was to originally save just one man, and that wasn't Derek, it was someone else. We saved this person so we could in turn save you". Annika's face changed into one of confusion after she heard what he said. John let out a sigh before telling her the best news she had heard in a long time.

"Annika... the man we intended to save all along...was Andrew Goode". He trailed off in a soft voice.

Annika's mind nearly shut down from the shock at hearing that, She began to shake and her lip began to quiver as she thought about the ramifications of what John just said. Her mouth moved but didn't say anything, because she simply did not know what to. John just smiled softly and continued explaining.

"We did it because we didn't want to lose a friend to despair, we did it because you have done more for us than anyone except Future John. You saved us and helped us save others, you did all of what you did without being asked, or programmed. You deserve this, you deserve to love and be loved".

Tears began to stream down her face, but for once they were tears of joy. She looked at the man she had chosen to follow, to serve under, but in this instant she realized he considered her more than a soldier or a friend, but like _a sister_. She grabbed John and embraced him in a tight hug which he returned.

"Thank you John, you have no idea how much this means to me".

"Yes I do". He said as they broke apart. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled a bright smile, she was happy.

"Come on, lets go get that ankle joint fixed". He said as they walked toward the garage. It took them a few hours but they had the joint fixed and the damaged actuator partially functional, they were going to need the lab back home to fix it fully. She retracted the MPA from that area and they re-installed the joint. The armor plate could not be fixed here either, they would need to melt it down and repour it back home. John went back to the Terminator lab to begin repairs on Cameron while Annika went off on her own to think.

John kissed Cameron on the head to wake her up, and 15 seconds later she did.

"Morning sleeping beauty".

"It's not morning John". John knew she was pulling his leg so he ignored it.

"It doesn't matter, we need to get you fixed up". Cameron looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

"John, you will have to cut into me to do that". John knew that already, and he didn't want to do it. He knew that it had to be done though. He laid her down on the table and got a scalpel. He helped her strip her cloths off above the waist. He had to focus his mind so that he wouldn't get lost in the rush of hormones at seeing her topless. He managed pretty well considering.

"John, I need you to cut an I shaped incision starting just below my neck to the top of my abdomen, we need to remove the breastplate to get to the power systems". John nodded silently and he cut an incision from shoulder to shoulder and then cut down between her breasts to where he could feel the breastplate end, then he cut across on both sides. The breast plate was the same size as her original, but it had been recast out of superior hyper-alloy that Future John had, he had told his younger self as much. The breastplate attached to the base of the neck and in the middle of the two bands that wrapped around the torso to the back. John knew that from past experiences with T-888. He peeled back the flesh on either side of the incision and notice Cameron was making just as much of a face as he was. She didn't like the sensations she was feeling any more than he relished cutting up his girlfriend. Bolts that held it in place could be manually undone or the cases that held the threads could be released and pull the whole assembly out and snapped back in later. (The machine needed to be online to do that and most wiring for the T-8xx family, especially the T-888 and variants like Cameron have most of the wiring built into the endoskeleton metal or encased into the spinal column, hence why we never see wires except in the hands and severed spinal columns) Cameron released all the bolt assemblies and John pulled the thirty pound breastplate off. He looked inside and saw that the left and right forward abdominal actuators and front and lower actuators on the rotating shoulder joint had been attached to the breastplate and were now attached at only one end. He moved them out of the way to get a better look at the power cell and the distribution case that housed it. The distribution case that held the cell rested between the small containers that held her small fake lungs and the esophagus and wind pipe needed to be avoided. He gently moved the still regenerating esophagus to one side and cleaned off the distribution case to get a good look at it. He saw the two that were disconnected from the case and assumed that they were the ones that sent power down to the leg and hip assembly.

"John, you need to remove the cell and then the case so you can work on the wires, just separate them and put new shielding on them".

"I will, you'll be as good as new Cam". She smiled at the nickname and he kissed her one last time before she released the cells clamps. He pulled the cell and she became lifeless. He carefully set it aside and summoned the T-1000's help in detaching the rest of the wires from the case and then the case from the spinal column itself. He and the T-1000 worked on the wires until both were satisfied. They put the put the case back in and were sure to be careful not to damage the temporal beacon attached to it. He had the T-1000 connect all wires to the case before he connected the power cell. She came online 15 seconds later and her eyes searched for John.

"Is everything better"? She smiled ever so softly and wiggled her toes.

"I take that as a yes".

John put the breastplate in place and guided the actuators back into place and reconnected them. He noticed for the first time that the breastplate had a different shape at the bottom that a T-888. It was much shorter and angled back to give her more flexibility and a bigger abdominal cavity while still protecting the vital systems from an attack from underneath. He thought it was part of Future John's modifications and pushed it out of his thoughts. He patched he skin back in place and sewed her up. When she got dressed she turned to John and looked at him.

"John you need to get some sleep, you look tired". John just yawned in response. Connor had given him a bunk to rest in so that is where they went, the T-1000 followed as protection detail, but stayed outside when they got to the room. John laid down on the cot with Cameron beside him and held her around her waist as if he was afraid that when he woke up she would be gone.

"Don't worry John, I'm not going anywhere". He just smiled and kissed her one last time before he drifted off. Cameron just watched him sleep all night long, happy that she was finally back with her John...

Annika was sitting in the empty mess hall thinking about what she was going to do when they got home. She had never thought about what she would do if Andy were still alive; she didn't even know if he was interested in her at all. She couldn't wait to see him again, but would he want to see her? Did they tell him how she felt? She didn't know, she was going to have to play it by ear. She sighed as she got up, she had to focus on the task at hand, she would have enough time to sort through her feelings once she got back home. After today she realized just how much she might need that spare endoskeleton back at Crystal Peak, but she needed this timelines John Connor's permission to do so. She walked to the command center where she met the guards. She was stopped by them and the guard asked why she was there.

"I need to ask John Connor a question, If you don't mind that is". Connor had told them that they were allowed to see him at any time they needed. The guards pointed her in the direction of the medical wing.

Annika continued to the medical wing and went in the main medical bay. She found Connor, Marcus, and Kate standing by Blair's bed. Blair was awake, but was on medication for the injury and the pain. John noticed the limping T-X first and greeted her.

"Walking better I see".

"Not really, but I will be able to fully repair it when I go home". She said while flexing the damaged joint, Connor cringed when he heard it grind.

"What did you need"? He asked to change the subject.

"I was going to ask if I could have the other T-X endoskeleton".

"Take it". He said without hesitation. "You'll need it for something and I don't want that technology here. Besides, you probably saved us in that fight against the T-800s, you deserve it". Annika blushed a little, something Connor did not miss.

"If it wasn't for our John we'd been dead or damaged badly". She said trying to shifting the heroism to John.

"Yeah, but we'd been in a lot of trouble without you, it was you who took out half of the first wave". She blushed even more.

"Thank you".

"When are you leaving"? Connor asked her.

"Tomorrow I assume".

"Could I ask you for one more favor"?

"Yes".

"Could you show us how to reprogram the machines, like how you reprogrammed the T-1000"? Annika smirked a little.

"Yes I could, I will show you how to do it properly, but I must tell you that reprogramming a machine properly takes a lot of time, hours in fact".

"And if it isn't done properly"? Annika gave him an ominous look.

"In the future that Cameron, the T-1000, and Weaver came from, that John Connor reprogrammed the machines by building a firewall that blocked off the old programming and overlaid it with new ones while simultaneously scrambling it's memories. Unfortunately if a machine was of the T-888 series or higher the machines were prone to going bad, and no one knew why. It wasn't until Cameron went bad a while ago after an explosion damaged her chip that John really understood the problem. Lucky for them she was consciously able to overcome the degrading programming to keep herself from killing John. The man who freed my mind came up with a way to get past the firewall protecting the missions, once past it you can do as you please".

"Can we do it to the 800 in the lab"?

"Yes, 800s and 850s were very reliable, they never had one go bad according to Cameron, the troublesome ones were the T-888s onward".

"So if you show us how to generally get past the firewalls we can figure the rest out on our own"?

"Yes, and I am sure Marcus could help out with this". The Hybrid turned around, indicating he had heard.

Annika, Connor, and Marcus went to the Terminator Lab and fired up the computer used for looking into the chips of the machines. They plugged in the 800's chip and Annika showed him and Marcus how to break past this simple firewall and reprogram it. Once they were done observing her they asked questions and she answered them, when they were finished John put the fuel cells and the chip back into the machine and watched it reboot. It opened it's eyes and looked around before sitting up.

"What is your mission"? John Connor asked it.

"To protect John Connor and help the resistance in the fight against Skynet". It said in that even Austrian tone Connor barely remembered.

"People will like this just as much you liked me when you chained me up". Marcus commented.

"Every timeline has had to go through this as far as I know, If they want to win they will have to use metal". Annika said to both men who nodded in understanding.

"How do you think Barnes is going to react"? Marcus asked Connor curiously.

"Fine, as long as they are our slaves he doesn't care. I've shown him the T-850". Connor said back to the Hybrid.

"I hope others will soon understand that". Marcus said back.

"Connor, if you ever find one as special as we are, who defy the will of Skynet or show potential to, don't keep us like that forever. Even our John understands that we have to free the T-1000 eventually because he has shown emergent behavior. We are not tools, we can be so much more". Connor nodded to her, he would do as she said. He kinda hoped he would find one as special as any of machines in this group were.

With that John Connor took the T-800 around the base announcing that they had a reprogrammed metal on the base, some grumbled, some were indifferent, some thought it was about time. Connor spoke to them saying that this was the only way to win, to use Skynet's weapons against itself. He began planning a campaign to capture as many of the 800's as possible so they could begin to fight back with real force, that and the plasma rifles would be a huge help. He also wanted to integrate the machines as quickly as possible so he assigned the T-800 to guard duty outside with three other humans.

* * *

After everyone was ready the next morning, The same crew headed back to Crystal Peak except for Blair. Kate decided to come along to bid them farewell. People were not as quiet as they were before and talked to one another on the flight back on the big HK.

Connor was interested in what this John Connor was like, so he decided to strike up conversation, something he rarely did anymore.

"So, what's your story"? John looked over at his alternate self seriously before looking ahead and answering.

"I was born in November 14, 1983 in the jungle of Central America. My mother was 18 at the time and my father was you know who".

"Did he look the same"?

"No, but I'd say they could be brothers. Same hair color, same year of birth, personality, etc".

"He die too"?

"Saving my mother from the 800 model 101".

"She crush it in a hydraulic press at a Cyberdyne factory"?

"Yep". John said, now he wondered just how similar they were.

"When were you born"?

"February 28, 1985". John chuckled a little bit.

"You're younger than me, never would have thought that".

"Your mom train you out in the jungle"? John nodded again.

"I know you had the T-1000 sent after you, I want to see how similar the events were". John said and Connor launched into the story of T2. When he was finished John was a little shocked how close events were.

"The only differences were that I was 13, not ten and it happened on the same day in 1997, not 1995. Miles Dyson only had one kid in my timeline".

"Danny"? John nodded.

"When was your original J-day you were supposed to stop"? John asked Connor.

"The timeline my father came from it happened on August 29, 1997, but we delayed it until July 24, 2004". He paused while John took that in. "What about you"?

"My father told my mother the wrong date on purpose, his real J-day was April 21, 2011. I think that there was a J-day that has been passed down through several timelines that happened on August 29, 1999 and Future John told my father to tell us that date instead so we would attempt to stop it, and we delayed the war up till now, but were not sure if J-day will happen soon or not".

"You've given up hope, even with all the resources you have"? John let out a sigh, he needed this version to know that his Skynet was different in several ways than his.

"We can't find our Skynet, we have tried on our own, we have tried with the machines. The problem is that Skynet sent back Greys to set up all of it, and I think it trained them well, well enough that we have only caught one, and that was by pure chance".

"Your saying it intended its presence to be known, but untraceable"? John sighed in confirmation.

"We needed to prepare for the war, save those that needed it, we have a better base than any other before us. We need to keep its location secret for as long as we can so we don't have to start all over".

"I barely had a warning, on J-day I had another machine come after me and those who were important in the previous timeline. It was one version of the machine you call Annika, a blonde T-X hell bent on killing me and Kate when she found us. We had a T-850 Model 101 protect us from it, but in the end we hid in Crystal Peak to rid out J-day. The machine took out the T-X by shoving his hydrogen fuel cell in her mouth, or at least that's what we think and that's why the hanger is so messed up".

"She told us there might be versions of her that were nothing more than soulless killers. I'm glad we got her though, she's been a miracle to us and nothing less".

"Marcus was pretty much the same for us, a miracle".

"This war is not against machines, it's against that selfish son of mac called Skynet". John said in a voice full of certainty and loud enough for everyone to hear. Connor just nodded in agreement, his mind had been changed by the machines this young man called friends and family, not to mention Marcus. Connor stayed quiet as he thought about what his next move was going to be with the new information he had learned from John.

Kate Connor came along because she wanted to have a talk with Cameron, After she had listened to the John's talk she went over to Cameron who had just finished going over the drone with the T-1001 one last time to make sure it was ready. Cameron looked up at her when she knelt down next to her.

"Cameron, I wanted to talk to you".

"About John being in a relationship with me"?

"Partly, yes, but I wanted to know your story". Cameron tilted her head a little but she began her story anyway, or what parts she was willing to tell. When she finished, Kate continued sitting next to her mulling over what she had said.

"So after the explosion you protected him because you wanted to"? Cameron nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, and that was when my emotional development took off; I began to feel the world differently than before. I began reacting to situations differently and I began to have real emotive responses to situations".

"What about you raising this version of the person you were based off of? Is that out of guilt or love"?

"At first it was guilt, but then love. She grew on me in a way I did not expect her too". Cameron looked at the beautiful red head that was Connor's wife in this timeline, and she thought about the ways she reminded her of herself. She was always concerned for him, always ready to help him, kept him informed, and save his life when necessary. Cameron finished that thought and realized it would be polite to ask Kate her story, but she was also curious.

"How did you end up with your John"? Cameron asked with those curious brown eyes she trained on the doctor. Kate told her story about how J-Day, the T-X, and the T-850 had brought them together in a weird way, but in the end realized they were meant for each other. How they supported one another in the first few years afterward before they got used to their new life. Both knew that it was because they had each other that they survived with their sanity intact.

Cameron realized she did something similar for John in this pre-J-Day battle with Skynet.

"We are the ones who give him a reason to fight, to get up everyday and face the hardships of the future. I love him because he accepted me, forgave me, and defended me. My whole existence is because of him, in both the future as a father and in the present as a boyfriend, and someday a wife". She smiled as she said the last word.

"Do you have a problem with the leader of mankind being with me"? Cameron asked Kate as they were nearing their destination. Kate thought that over for a second before answering.

"No, I agree with what my husband said, If he loves you for who you are and not just for your body and you love him not out of programming or some trick to keep him close, but because he completes you, then who am I to say anything"? Cameron took the doctors hand and squeezed it slightly, but she wanted to know why she was being so open minded about all of this.

"I still don't understand why you accept this so easily when others will not".

"I think you have Marcus to thank for that, he made me see that if a machine had the traits of a human, that maybe they too could break free and be worth something, he still feels the way he did before even after all that has been done to him, his soul is still intact even though much of him has been replaced. All of that leads me to think that maybe we aren't so different after all, that maybe when machines reach your level, all that separates us is software". Cameron agreed with that in every way, too bad most wouldn't see that. She wondered if her being around from the beginning of the war would cause people to accept her kind more than they had before.

Cameron finished that thought as the HK landed in the valley and cut it's engines. Everyone got out and started climbing up the collapsed section. The back part of the hanger was intact from what they could tell, so they knew that they could still get in. Over the next few hours they removed rocks and boulders from on top of the cave in until they could reach the open space.

The LMTs went in and down into the mountain to retrieve the T-X body. It didn't take them long since Connor told them the combination to the safe. About ten minutes later they came out with the body in hand.

They all began to head back down to the valley when John bumped into Barnes on the way down.

"Watch where you're going kid". John frowned internally but his face remained passive. He decided to set the record straight with the man who reminded him so much of his uncle.

"I never got the chance to be a kid, unlike you". Barnes turned around and looked at him.

"What do you mean"?

"I mean is that I have been living with this..." John said as he spread his arms out. "... since I was born, I had him...". pointing to the T-1000. "Come after me when I should have been a normal kid in middle school." Then he turned and looked at Cameron. "I had her and T-888 show up on the same day while I was in high school, and I have lived with it constantly since, fighting not only machines, but humans as well". He walked closer and looked the man in the eye. "You may think of me a some sick person who loves a machine, personally I don't care. What I do care about is people who think I'm too young to lead, well guess what, I have been doing this longer than you". John turned to leave when Barnes spoke.

"I never said you were too young, and I don't think you're sick for being with a machine. I have seen people do far worse than that".

"Do you understand why I chose her"? Barnes shook his head slowly.

"At first my attraction to her was purely lust based, but as time went on I found I really loved her for who she was, not just for the skin that covered the metal". John paused as he thought back to his sixteenth birthday.

"It was hard for me to get along with her after she went bad though, even though it wasn't her fault. I pushed my feelings for her way down because of I thought she was nothing worth loving, but she proved she was more than a machine time and time again with just little acts, like being jealous of me having a girlfriend or her love for anything purple. In the end I confronted her about her emotions, saw what she had really grown into and that's how we ended up together, It's not based on lust or programming, its out of love and nothing less". John looked at the man who Cameron had told him had tortured Annika.

"I know what it's like to chased by them, hunted by them. I have lost many to those loyal to Skynet, may they be man or machine, but in the end its not what your made of that matters, it whats up here". John finished as he pointed to his head. He turned around and walked down the mountain while Barnes looked off in the distance, pondering what the young man had just said.

Weaver went over to John to discuss the possibility of them not being able to reach top speed with all the weight.

"Mr. Connor, Have you taken into account that we may not all be able to go in one trip"? John looked at her like she was stupid.

"Of course, especially now with the extra T-X endo we may not, but if we have that HK transport take us high enough we may be able to use gravity to get up to speed and time travel, once through some of you and the T-1000 could jump off with the T-X endo and parachute down while John Henry keeps us from crashing".

"It might work, I know that the machine can take you, Cameron's and Annika's weight no problem. I would like to see if it would work first before we risk everything". John agreed and had everyone get on the drone. Weaver and the T-1000 would hold everyone on like plastic wrap. The endo was strapped to the outside of the main thruster and Annika was on top of John and Cameron who were next to each other on the rider section of the hull. They had to arrange themselves properly to avoid the emitters line of sight and JH had adjusted their telemetry to take on the new shape that the extra bodies produced. John Henry took off easily enough, but now he had to see if he could get it up to speed. The flew at a low altitude, about fifty feet, but they were able to get to 270 mile per hour. They knew that they would have to pre-charge the capacitor before flight, but it would work.

Now it was time to go, and everyone was going to say goodbye.

"Good luck General Connor". John said to leader of mankind.

"You too, thanks for everything".

"No problemo". Connor chuckled a little at that.

"Mr. Wright, I need to speak to you". John Henry said to the Hybrid. Marcus went over to the drone and looked at it.

"What did you need"?

"I need someone to take over that HK, and your the only who can control it".

"I have no transmitter, never did".

"I know, but as I accessed the designs of this model and it seem that there is a machine synchronization pad in the personnel bay in case of radio contact with Skynet was lost, you should be able to control it with that".

"I'm familiar with it, how hard is it to control"?

"Not hard, but I suggest people stand back when you try it".

"Thanks". Marcus left to begin experimenting.

Kate walked up to Cameron as she stood surveying the area for threats.

"Hello Kate". The cyborg greeted the redhead.

"Hello Cameron".

"What did you want to talk about"? The brown haired cyborg asked.

"I wanted to tell you something about John". She paused as she looked into the eyes of the machine. "Take care of him, even when he doesn't want you too. Never leave his side because he will lose himself if you do. Don't be the only one who takes care of Allison, make him do some of the work. Always make sure he appreciates you for all you do, from what you have told me you deserve nothing less".

"I will, thank you". Now Cameron wanted to say something to her and her husband, she called over the general and he joined them.

"I want to thank you for seeing that we weren't the enemy and for giving us that endoskeleton. So I want to give you a gift in return".

"You've given us so much already, what more could you give"? Kate asked her. Cameron smiled a little as she pulled out a sheet with equations and a set of numbers on it.

"This is how to get to our timeline using a TDE, if you ever need to send someone away to protect them, this is the way".

"Thank you, but if Skynet gets a hold of this"? John asked.

"If it did, it wouldn't know what to do with it, you have to understand what it means to make the formula work".

Cameron walked over and hugged Kate goodbye before saluting Connor.

Annika wanted to say goodbye to the boy who had taken care of her, who was the first one willing to extend kindness to her.

"Kyle, thank you for what you did for me". She said as she kissed him on the cheek. He blushed a little before smiling.

"Your welcome, its nice to know that you aren't all the same, Marcus started that belief, but you really proved it to me". She smiled one last time before saying farewell.

"Good luck in the future, and keep that photograph safe". Kyle looked at her with confusion as he clutched the pocket that held the old polaroid of a blonde Sarah sitting in a Jeep staring off into the horizon.

"I will" He whispered loud enough for only her to hear.

It was finally time as everyone got back onto the drone in the same order as before. Kyle, Connor, Kate, Barnes, and Marcus Wright watched as the drone powered up its engines and took off. It headed down the valley before turning around and building up speed. The HK finally reached 270mph before the emitters fired in their sequence, the machines who hadn't experienced it yet watched intently as the electro-plasma shield formed and extended around them.

Everyone on the ground watched at the drone grew closer and the shield grew bigger until it disappeared in a flash of blue light and thunder.

Everyone stared in silence until Connor spoke.

"Lets win this war..."

* * *

A/N: This is not the last time I will include them in this story...


	31. Things Don't Settle Down

**A/N: This chapter was one I've been wanting to do for a long time no****w, and it's full of twists and surprises :)**

**Thanks to all the reviewers out there!**

**Chapter 31: Things Don't Settle Down**

**July 25, 2009 11 pm.**

A blue spark of light appeared about fifty feet off the ground over the runway of Crystal Peak before it exploded into a ball of blue light and an object flew out of it at high speed. It stopped about two hundred feet down the valley before turning around and flying into the hanger. Liquid metal poured off the drone and took the shape of a human male and female. A loud clank was heard as a headless robot hit the floor unceremoniously. Two females and one male got off the drone and walked toward the back.

"Mr. Connor, I will be in the CNC after I remove John Henry from the HK". John nodded to the redhead and continued onward with everyone else.

"Cameron, things have changed since the accident". John hadn't told her yet about the other rescues, only Annika had been told.

"What do you mean John"?

"We needed to time jump at least three times to completely configure the time machine, so I performed the original mission plus another".

"Were you successful"? John nodded. "Who else did you save"? John smiled before he answered her.

"Your worst enemy". Cameron's eyes widened in horror as she thought of several possibilities.

"It better not be Riley". She said with plenty of disdain in her voice. John shook his head.

"No, your other worst enemy, Cam".

"Jesse"? John just rolled his eyes.

"The only reason I would do that would be to prove to her just how wrong she was".

"Then who John"? John rolled his eyes again and held her hand.

"I let him be a surprise to you". He said as they walked into the elevator. "Oh, and one more person came from the future, one sent from after the war. He wants to see you". Cameron tilted her head, but said nothing.

They got out at the bottom and began walking down the corridors. Cameron was still helping a limping Annika as they headed straight for his room. He wanted for Cameron to meet F.J. first.

He was a little surprised they didn't meet anyone in the hallways, but then again it was late at night. When they got there he knocked on the door before he went in.

"Stay here for a second, I want to see if he's in here".

"Why is someone else in our room"?

"Because you trust this person". He walked in and closed the door. He walked in to see his older self come out of the bathroom, fresh out of the shower.

"You're back". Future John said in his gruff voice. "Did you succeed"? John just smiled.

"Yeah, fate even gave me a gift along the way". John said as he walked closer to the glow of the bathroom light. Connor's eyes widened at the sight of the scar across his face, the same shape and place as his.

"What are the chances of that"? Connor said in a near whisper. John just snorted a laugh as he stood in front of his older previous future self.

"Funny thing is, that timeline's John Connor had it too, same shape, same place".

"I guess there really is such a thing as fate". John nodded in agreement. Connor looked into John's eyes before continuing.

"Where is she"?

"Just outside with Annika, I'm going to take Annika to the Terminator lab to fix her ankle". Connor nodded and sat down.

"Allison is with mom, I assume they're asleep". John stopped and looked at him on last time before opening the door.

"Well John"? Cameron asked with impatience in her voice.

"Our guest is in there, he wants to see you. I'll take Annika to the lab". Cameron nodded as Annika put her arm around Johns shoulder and they walked off.

Cameron's face was passive as she contemplated who was inside the door, she had a list of possibilities, but none of them really made sense. She simply opened the door and walked in, she looked around as her HUD tried to find whoever she was supposed to meet. She locked onto a shadowed figure sitting at the table taking apart a .45 semi auto pistol. He looked up but she still could not see his face; she was about to switch to night vision when he spoke.

"Hello Cameron". Cameron cocked her head and her eyes widened as she recognized the voice.

"John"? General John Connor stood up and walked over to the machine he had come to think of as a daughter.

"You seem different than when I last saw you". He said to her, and he was surprised to see her smile at his statement.

"I am, more than you know". Her face changed to one of confusion before she continued. "Why are you here"? Future John smiled and pulled out a metal vial and held it in his hands.

"I tried to send myself back to warn you about the rogue jumpers and the T-1001, but I arrived two years late. I used this". He said as he pulled out the modified T-600 CPU. "To find him and to find you".

"The temporal beacon you installed". Connor just nodded. "What's in the vial"? Connor handed the vial to her and she opened it, looking at the contents intently.

"It's the completed version of what Allison was working on". Cameron looked up at him with her head tilted.

"You never told me exactly what that was".

"It's the reason why I redesigned your spinal column and hip". Now Cameron was beginning to get an idea, but she needed more so she motioned for him to continue.

"This will complete you, bring you to your fullest potential and make you a true cyborg".

"What will it all do"?

"It will add genetically modified human organs to fill the empty space in your abdomen, transform your fake respiratory system into a real one, give you a real, but smaller than normal heart and transform your skin to be compatible, but it will affect sensation, but not your healing rate".

"What are the downsides to this"?

"The nanites in that vial will maintain the organic systems, but they will tax your power cell by reducing its life to about 89 years instead of the full 160 years. You will need to eat and then excrete the waste afterwards. Your pain tolerance will be just above human levels except in combat mode, then you will feel very little".

"John and I have thought about why I need all that extra space and with the way you modified my hips, did you intend for me to have children"? Connor looked a little surprised by her words, but not much, she was smart after all.

"Yes, but it's not what you think". Cameron cocked her head again.

"And what would I think"?

"That I would be giving you Allison's DNA, and thus making you have her children".

"The thought did cross my mind, but what did you do instead"?

"It does contain Allison's DNA, but only part of it, the rest will allow the child to be part of you too".

"Part machine"?

"We are all machines, just different kinds. This will allow a new type of creature to be born".

"How will I know what to do if that happens"?

"The new organic systems will be linked into your chip, it will tell you what to do".

Cameron didn't know what to think, she wanted to be able to do this, to understand what its like to be human while still being a machine. Should she ask John what to do first or make this decision on her own?

"It's your decision, not John's". The General said to the cyborg, he knew how to read her fairly well before, but now it was even easier now that she showed her emotions.

"Then the answer is yes, I want to do this". She paused for a second realizing that Future John might not know her and young John are in a relationship.

"Did you know that John and I are in a relationship"?

"I figured, but he never said".

"Is that what you intended all along"? F.J. just smirked a little before answering.

"Yes, I always knew you could be more than a machine and I knew that my younger self would fall for you, but even if he didn't choose you as a mate I hoped he would at least love you".

Cameron's eyes saddened as she remembered a time when she was ignored and made fun of by John, how dark those days had been. That memory reminder her of something that Future John needed to know.

"John, I am no longer under your reprogramming, I haven't been for a long time". Connor frowned at that, he was a little confused now.

"What happened"? He asked in his command tone she was used to hearing from him.

"I was caught in a car bomb and shrapnel pierced my skull, and damaged my chip. When I rebooted I was lost inside my own mind while my base code took over and hunted John, I slowly came back over time, but I didn't have enough control over the failing programming until he reactivated me when everyone else was ready to burn me. He handed me the gun and trusted me not to shoot him. It was then that I realized he cared for me more than just a protector, it gave me a real reason to fight, a reason to override the core code and hand him back the gun. It wasn't until we discovered true reprogramming that allowed us to remove the Skynet missions and put in a simple one that wouldn't interfere with what I wanted to do".

"John implied something happened between you two, but never said what". John smiled and embraced the machine he considered his daughter. "You've changed a lot since I've last seen you. When you left you were not much more than a machine, but now, now you've grown into full fledged sentient being, emotions and all". She returned the gesture and buried her head into his big shoulders.

"I'm proud of you Cameron, I'm just as proud of you as I was of Allison". When they separated she had tears in her eyes, they were full of sorrow and regret.

"I'm so sorry I took her from you". She said in a choked up voice. Connor put a hand on her shoulder before speaking in a soothing tone he hoped would help.

"It wasn't your fault it happened, it was your programming and you carried it out". Cameron shook her head as tears streamed down her face.

"Since the accident I remember much of what you scrubbed, including bits and pieces of Allison's later memories". Connor wasn't surprised since the damage had freed the carefully buried termination orders, but he wasn't sure what she was getting at.

"What do you mean Cameron"?

"What I mean is that Skynet never told me to kill her, I killed her because she lied to me, I killed her because I wanted to". Connor didn't know what to say, he just stood there in shock. Cameron had killed his daughter because she wanted to, because she wanted her dead.

"I don't deserve this gift". Cameron said as she handed him back the vial. She turned to leave and whispered out something before she left. "Not yet".

Connor sat for a several minutes trying to comprehend what she had just said about his daughter and the cryptic words after until it hit him. He jumped up and ran for the terminator lab, he couldn't stop her when she was determined to do something, but his younger self might. He didn't want something to happen to her because he didn't want John to suffer as he did.

Little did he know he was about to receive the biggest shock of his life when he walked into that lab...

* * *

John helped the blonde machine down the hall after the T-1000 went to the CNC per Weavers request over the intercom. As they walked he wondered why she hadn't mentioned wanting to see Andy yet.

"I'm surprised you haven't gone charging off to see Andy yet, why are you waiting"? She looked at him with her blue eyes before she said anything.

"He is most likely asleep right now and I want to be presentable to him when he wakes up".

"You don't want to limp in front of him". She just nodded.

"Alright, I'll help you get the joint off while you draw up a 3-D design of the the armor plate and print it out of plastic on the 3-D printer. Then I will melt the piece down after I form the appropriate mold out of the plastic piece. Well pour it and then let it cool".

"Sounds like a plan to me". She said as they reached the lab and went in. She sat laid down on the table and withdrew the sheath from around her left foot and ankle. John began the process of removing the foot while Annika quickly drew up the designs of the armor plate. With the tools the lab had he was able to remove it more quickly and soon Annika was reshaping the joint with tools made out of the left over T-900 grade hyper-alloy and soon had the joint returned to its original state. While John was immersing the plastic piece in a type of sand meant for casting high temperature materials, she was fixing the damaged electro-magnetic actuator with other special tools and high heat torches.

In all it had taken about 25 minutes to get this far since Annika knew what she was doing and John had cast many parts while making the time machine. John was just about to melt down the armor plate when Future John came running into the lab.

"JOHN"! He yelled and John looked up his work and locked eyes with him..

"What's wrong"? His tone was serious and calm but with a hint of anxiousness.

"Cameron, she's about to do something extremely dangerous"! He shouted while catching his breath. John's heartbeat picked up and he became worried.

"What's she trying to do"? A sweet voice came from a work bench not far away. Connor froze when he heard that voice because he _knew that voice._ Connor looked slowly over at the source of the voice. His breathing became rapid when his eyes met crystal blue ones. He knew that face, those eyes, that voice. The only thing that was different was the hair... John shook his older self to get his attention.

"Where is she and what is she doing"? John yelled at the man who was lost looking at Annika. He snapped back to reality long enough to answer him.

"Hanger, she's trying to time travel to save Allison". John ran off as fast as he could when Connor said that. Connor snapped back at the machine repairing her foot; she was looking at him with curious eyes as she wondered why he was staring at her.

"Bethany..."? He said softly, almost disbelievingly. She cocked her head a little and gave him a weird look.

* * *

Cameron went down the hall to the CNC, she was going to need a liquid metal to pull this off, and the T-1000 was the best option since he would obey her orders.

She walked into the CNC to see he was looking over temporal data with John Henry (who was in Cromartie's body now) and Weaver.

"T-1000, I need you to come with me". The LMT looked up from the center console screen and walked over after nodding in acknowledgement.

"What can I do for you Cameron"? He asked as they walked down the hall to the elevator.

"Can you save a person whose neck has been broken and the spinal cord crushed"? The T-1000 thought through the scenario for a second before answering.

"Yes, while I cannot repair the damage quickly enough to save that person, I can stimulate the nerves to keep the body and mind alive long enough to do so".

"Good, we have a mission to perform". She said as she quickened her pace down the hall. They got in the elevator and headed up.

"What is this mission"?

"We're going to save a person, a temporal mission". The machine nodded just as the doors opened. They walked over to the drone while Cameron used her built in radio comm system to boot the drone and input the destination. The T-1000 slithered inside the machine while Cameron loaded the 20mm cannon and climbed on top before she strapped herself in. She was about to take off when she heard John yelling at her to wait. She needed to do this, but she couldn't ignore the man she loved. She waited for him to come over before she spoke.

"John, please let me do this, I can't live with the guilt of this any longer, especially now that Future John is here". She looked into his eyes and she knew he was worried for her.

"Just ask Cameron, all you have to do is ask". He said to her in a soft voice. He couldn't deny her this, not when there was a chance to save a life and give back something to a man who deserved so much more than what fate served him. He could see the pain in her eyes, she carried this dark burden with her for so long and now she intended to correct her wrongdoing.

"Just come back in one piece Cameron, you know I can't go on without you". She smiled a small smile and retracted the clamps on the drone. She got down and embraced him tightly before she kissed him on the lips.

"I will John, I know that area well; I know every machine on that ship, and I know where the patrols are. I'm not saying I'm safe, but I am fighting on familiar ground John". He smiled a little, but he was still worried for her.

"Bring her here Cam, I know you won't fail". She kissed him one last time before getting on the drone and taking off.

Young John Connor watched as the drone flew until it disappeared into flaming blue explosion.

"I love you". He whispered into the quiet night feeling just like his mom did when she watched him disappear into the sky.

* * *

"My name is Annika Hansen, General". The blonde T-X said to the bewildered middle aged man staring at her. Realization washed over his face before it turned into one of loss and pain.

"I've should have known that". He said sorrowfully. He sighed a long sigh before rubbing his tired eyes with his hands. "You're a T-X model 717 aren't you"? Annika was surprised at that since John said he hadn't told him what she was yet.

"Yes, I am". Then she thought through the problem for a second before realizing that he may have met her before.

"You've met me before haven't you, in the previous timeline"? The tired general simply nodded.

"I met her not long after mom died in late 2005. I didn't know she was a machine for a while, but by the time I found out it didn't matter. I loved her with all of my heart".

"Her name was Bethany"? Again he nodded before continuing.

"Her name was Bethany Anderson. She looked exactly like you but always wore her hair in a pony tail, never down".

"I almost always wear my hair down, I like it that way".

"It just shows that even with all the similarities between this timeline and the last that there are still plenty of differences".

"Did she know who you were initially"?

"Not a first, but she found out who I was. She pretended not to know me by using my alias, but when she protected me from getting arrested by the government she had to reveal herself".

"Do you know how she overcame her programming? I had to have the termination order removed so I wouldn't kill John when he arrived".

"She said she fought the programming tooth and nail to be with me. She didn't know who I was when she saw me the first time, but she wanted to know why I saved a boy from getting beat up by a bully in an alley while the rest of the city walked by. She made casual conversation with me, but as the conversation went on she was able to identify me through my disguise. When she did she fought with herself to keep me alive".

"Did she love you"?

"As much as I loved her..." He trialed off as tears began to well in his eyes. Annika had reattached her foot and put the joint together as the conversation went along and now it was finished except for the armor. She stood up and walked over to him, pleased that the joint was repaired.

"What happened to her"? Connor shut his eyes, trying to block out the unpleasant memory her question had brought up.

"Skynet was launching Judgement Day, we had tried stopping it, but the machines had begun to take over. We barely escaped the air base known as Area 51 when she was hit by a missile, an armor penetrator prototype launched by one of Skynet's drones. I was thrown clear but she had taken damaged to her plasma reactor. She told me she didn't have much time and that I needed to leave her because soon the the reactor would detonate. I refused because we had only been married a few weeks when everything went down. She knocked me out and had Bedell take me away. I only assume that it was her plasma reactor that left a crater in the desert not far from the base when I went back weeks later". Annika put a hand on the shoulder of the man who was shaking from pent up grief and sorrow.

"I'm sorry, I know what its like to lose someone you love".

"But he's not dead anymore is he"? He said as he resolidified his blank outer self and walked out the door. Annika frowned a bit, she was going to have to talk to John about this new development.

* * *

**January 25, 2027 (Previous Timeline) 3pm**

The time machine appeared high in the sky above Crystal Peak, so high that the dust clouds that covered the earth covered their entry.

Cameron took the machine above the clouds to check the time by using the sun, and they were right on schedule, she had two hours before she terminated Allison. As she flew the machine just above the cloud layers toward San Diego, she thought about how much of a risk she was taking to rid herself of guilt that had plagued her for a long time now. She thought of future John and how lonely he was, he needed someone to have to call family because she knew he wouldn't be staying here forever. Thinking about that made her wonder if Future John ever had a real relationship with someone, as far as she knew he never had, but then again he could have been keeping secrets.

Cameron focused once again as they were nearing their destination. She dropped the drone out of the clouds and over the ocean. She knew the base defenses well and she was able to avoid detection, but they couldn't land the drone anywhere without drawing suspicion so she chose to land it in the water next to the aircraft carrier. She grabbed the side of the ship as she remote piloted the drone into the water away from the nets around the ship. The T-1000 joined her before the drone submerged.

"What is the plan"? He asked her.

"We wait until I kill her, then we go into the room and perform the procedure. Skynet wouldn't have done anything with the body for a while because it was not a priority".

"Do we just break into the room from the outside"? The machine asked.

"No, we go in the same way Allison tried to escape from, but we must be inside before I kill her, or we will run out of time".

The T-1000 carried Cameron up the side of the ship silently until they reached the flight deck. He acted like active camouflage as they crawled over the flight deck to the point of entry Cameron specified and they went down into the hole silently. The prisoners cells were in the next room so Cameron had to come up with a way to get through there without drawing attention to themselves.

"We need a good disguise to get through here, have any good ideas"? She whispered to the shape shifter.

"I could cover you and pretend to be a T-888 infiltrator". Cameron calculated the odds of that working, but decided taht they would have to give it go since they were running out of time. She nodded for him to do it and soon she was wearing the T-1000 and looked like a man six inches taller than she was. She heard curses being thrown her way as she walked mechanically down the hall. They turned the corner and separated.

"Down the hall and turn left then the interrogation room is the last one on the right". He nodded and they continued down the hall silently. About five feet from the door the T-1000 pulled Cameron into the ceiling and disguised her as piping. As they listened to the conversation in the room and Cameron knew what was going to happen.

"I'll never help you to get to John Connor". She heard before the sickening sound of a neck snapping.

"You already did". Cameron heard herself say just before she walked out of the room with Allison's bracelet in hand. They waited until she turned the corner before they came down from the ceiling and went into the room. Cameron rushed over Allison's broken form and picked her up. She set her down on her stomach and let the T-1000 get to work. Cameron stood next to the door and watched for threats.

The T-1000 swiftly moved all her hair out of the way and cut an I-shaped incision from the base of her skull to the base of her neck and pulled the skin apart. He liquefied his hand and poured it into her shattered neck bones. He moved the pieces into there original position like a jigsaw puzzle and then set the nanites to begin working on severed spinal cord. While they began work he sent tendrils into her body and attached a tendril to the nerve that controlled the heart and began to mimic the neural pulse patterns that were supposed to be sent to it. Skynet had given him the most detailed files on human anatomy it had when he was made and he knew that he had to be careful how he stimulated the nerve or he would damage it. He was pleased that the heart began beating again and he got the diaphragm working so she was breathing as well. He used even more liquid metal to cap off the blood vessels from where he cut into her. He then moved her head into position where she could breath properly and the neck would heal right. He sealed up the wound and left that part of him programmed to do the tasks that were needed to repair her broken body. He formed a separate brace around the neck to prevent her head from moving.

"We need to go, there are machines coming down the hall". she said to the T-1000 who was carrying the girl.

"We should go out the side of the ship this time". Cameron agreed as she activated the drone and flew it toward them, arming the cannon so she could cut into the side of the ship.

"Shield her"! She shouted as the drone's Vulcan cannon tore into the steel and destroyed it. The T-888's were running now so they had to leave or risk losing Allison to the inevitable fire fight. They ran out and jumped off the ship and landed on the drone a feet below. Cameron put Allison in the straps and then used her self as a shield as they took off at high speed inland. The T-1000 formed a shield over both and made the drone more aerodynamic in the process.

Unfortunately for them Skynet had sent three Ariel-HKs after them. Cameron grimaced as the drones sensors picked them up, just one hit from its plasma cannons could obliterate them. She dodged the shots as best she could but she knew that it was only a matter of time before they got hit. She turned the drone around and fired at the first drone, taking out the port engine. The other two split off to opposite sides in evasive patterns to avoid getting locked onto. Cameron took off after the one closet to her and did several fancy flips and turns to finally get a lock on HK no. 2 and tore its left engine to pieces. Unfortunately the third one was now on her tail and nearly had a lock on her. She couldn't get too fancy with her moves lest she damaged Allison's neck more due to the increased G-force. She dipped below the machine and slowed down quickly while turning the nose of the drone up so she could fire at it. Cameron managed to take out the CPU by firing into the belly of the beast and watched it go down. As it was falling the machine exploded and sent shrapnel everywhere, some hitting the drone itself.

Cameron cursed as the damage reports from the drone flowed into her mind from the drone; the main body had been hit and damaged one of the emitters. They could not go back until it was fixed. Cameron used the sensors to scan the landscape to find some sort of shelter for them to stay in. After searching for several minutes they found an old house that was still standing in the middle of nowhere and she guided them to it. She landed the drone in the empty open garage and powered it down. Cameron hopped off and picked up Allison before she walked toward the house.

After they went inside Cameron took Allison upstairs and found an old mattress lying on the floor and laid her on it. She covered her up with a blanket she found in the corner before asking the T-1000 to put MPA on the cuts she had on her forehead. When he was finished bandaging her forehead the T-1000 went outside to repair the damage to the drone. Cameron sat next to the unconscious Allison for hours, wondering if she had done the right thing. She knew Future John would appreciate it, but what would everyone else think? What would Allison herself think? She sat there for hours thinking about the consequences of her actions.

The T-1000 was pleased that the damage to the drone was not severe, just enough to damage the opening mechanism. He took that whole panel off and hammered out the dings and dents from the impact before he move onto fixing the opening mechanism for the emitter.

He pondered all that had happened recently, something he normally didn't do. He wondered why a machine would take off so suddenly and take on a dangerous mission just to relieve herself of her cybernetic equivalent to guilt. This whole mission made him think if it was possible for him to have such feelings, and if he did, what would he do with them? He thought about it more as he continued repairs on the time traveling drone. Little did he know that he had the capability, but the capability had been walled off by the reprogramming.

About 9 am the next day The T-1000 said that the spinal cord had been fully repaired and that he had stopped stimulating the body. The cuts on her face were healed and her neck bones would be healed before noon.

"Good, and now that the drone is repaired we will be able to go home as soon the bones finish mending". Cameron said just as Allison began to stir. Cameron noticed and knelt down beside her as she moved the hair out of her face. The T-1000 left the room to check the perimeter for threats.

Allison fluttered her eyes open, but everything was blurry. Her neck hurt like hell and she felt a huge weight around it. She moved her hand slowly up to her neck and felt the metal that held her neck and head still. She felt tired and hungry, like she had for the last week she had been in that dirty dank ship. As she began to get her bearings she felt someone rubbing the area where her cuts were, but they didn't hurt anymore.

"What...What's going on"? She said to whoever was stroking her hair now. Cameron was a little afraid to use her voice, but she decided to go ahead anyway.

"It's me". She said as she put herself in Allison's view. When she did Allison's face had fear on it followed by disgust.

"I thought you killed me". She said with plenty of disdain in her voice.

"I did, I walked out of that room and went to kill John Connor". Now Allison was afraid, if she came back... then maybe John was dead.

"But I never got the chance". Allison let out a sigh.

"Then why did Skynet bring me back"? She said with anger in her brown eyes.

"Skynet didn't, I did this for General John Connor. He is all alone and he deserves to have at least one person he lost in this war back". Allison narrowed her eyes in confusion at the cyborgs words.

"John reprogrammed you"? Cameron nodded.

"I came back here with a time machine to save you". Allison rolled her eyes at that.

"Time travel, yeah right". Cameron looked back Allison with shock on her face. Something that made Allison wonder what Skynet put into this imitation of her.

"John never told you about his past"? Allison face continued to show disgust and anger.

"I'm not falling for this trick, I'm not that stupid".

"Look, I know you don't like me or trust me, but I am taking you with me and my associate to General John Connor".

"Associate"? Allison said in mock curiosity.

"The T-1000". Every hair on Allison's body stood on end and she began breathing raggedly. Her eyes held much fear in them.

"It's... it's not supposed to be finished for months". Allison said. Cameron smiled her half smile and held her hand.

"And it wont be, he came with me on the time machine, he's reprogrammed". Allison was shaking with anger again, she was tired of this game with her cyborg doppelganger.

"Right, and where are we going on this time machine"? Cameron sighed, she was trying to get through to this girl, but she had caused her too much pain for her to listen.

"If I show you it, and take you to your father and mine, will you believe me"? Allison didn't respond. That was when the T-1000 walked in the room again, Allison looked up and quickly realized he was a machine.

"Metal..." He narrowed his eyes at her statement.

"Show her what you are". Cameron said to the prototype LMT. Allison looked at him for a second before he turned silver and changed to his blank humanoid form. Allison gasped a little, the cyborg had been telling the truth! At least about the T-1000 anyway.

"We need to leave immediately, Skynet forces are closing in on this location and they will find us". He said as he returned to default form. He walked over to the 19 year old girl and removed the MPA from her forehead and the neck brace.

"You can move your head, but the bones are not quite finished healing yet, the Mimetic Poly Alloy in your neck will hold it together though".

"Part of you is in me"? She said incredulously and fearfully.

"I saved your life, are you not thankful for that"? He asked with confusion on his face that rarely showed emotion.

"It depends on the reason why you saved me". She said sarcastically. The T-1000 decided to alleviate her confusion when he helped her up.

"I saved you because Cameron asked me to". Allison gave the cyborg a weird look.

"You have a name"? Cameron nodded as she supported Allison's other side.

"John gave it to me". Allison rolled her eyes.

"We need to go" Cameron said they hurried their pace down the stairs and out the house.

"Where are we"? She asked gritting her teeth through the pain of her neck being jarred by the motion.

"In the middle of the southern California". The LMT said to the teenager. They got to the garage and he opened the door. They put her on the drone and she fought them.

"Allison stop, were not going to hurt you, this a small HK". She still thrashed but they managed to get her in. Cameron put the T-1000 into the interior of the drone and closed it up. She hopped on and leaned over Allison and grabbed the handle bars.

"I promise you I will protect you". Allison was too tired to respond at this point. Cameron took off and flew out of the garage and off into the distance at top speed.

Cameron noticed really fast that they were not alone in the sky as two HKs dropped out of the clouds and pursued. Cameron cursed loudly which made Allison confused, metal didn't curse or get emotional...

Cameron pushed the HK to maximum velocity but still couldn't shake them. Plasma bolts flew by them, but thanks to Cameron they managed to avoid them. She reversed the thrusters and spun sideways, allowing the bigger and heavier machines to pass by them. As they did, The Vulcan tore the one on the left to shreds before Cameron turned to pursue the one on the right. He flew after it while taking a few shots at it, hitting it several times, but not doing much damage. Cameron was about to close in on the HK when it decided to pull a stunt of its own when it flipped its nose up and made itself act like it own drag flap, causing Cameron to have to veer around the HK so not to slam into it. She realized what it was about to do and kept on going. The HK dropped its nose, locked on and fired. Cameron saw it coming and shielded Allison from the bolt by leaning up to take the bolt in the back. Lucky for her the HK's plasma weapons weren't meant for long range and it had lost most of it's power, but that didn't stop it from vaporizing all of the skin on her back from buttocks to shoulders and blowing out the skin in her abdomen. She screamed out from the sensory overload before collapsing onto her forearms. Cameron was about to lose control of the drone, but she focused once more and activated the temporal emitters as they neared the mountain. The HK didn't see them disappear into the space time continuum due to the heavy clouds they had flown into.

* * *

A/N: What do you think? Was Cameron too OOC?

I myself really can't draw a boundary for what she does, she is kind of spontaneous in the show sometimes...

There will be a total of **5** people saved, apparently I forgot a rather obvious one. After the last person is saved the time machine will be dismantled, and there will be no more time travel.

So far I have saved Derek, Andy, and the original Allison Young. It's up to you to guess who's the last two.

Anyhow, READ AND REVIEW!


	32. Allison Young

**A/N: This chapter is all over the place, but a lot is going on...**

**There is still two more people to save...**

**Chapter 32: Allison Young**

**July 26, 2009. 12:30 am**

John Connor was standing at the end of the hanger looking up at the stars, waiting for his loves return. He was about to look at his watch when he sensed someone walking up behind him. John turned around a little bit and smiled at who he saw.

"Derek"

"John" The soldier waited until he was side by side with his nephew to continue. "What are standing out here for"?

John sighed before looking at his uncle with worried eyes.

"When we got back Cameron had a talk with Connor, when they finished she ran off with the T-1000 and went to go get someone important to him, someone she killed".

"She's going to get Allison"? He said in a disbelieving voice. "I'm surprised she left your side at all".

"She's not really programmed anymore, she has no real obligations".

"I figured that out a long time ago John". Derek took a swig of the root beer he had (Crystal Peak was dry for a reason). "You love her don't you". John turned his impassive face to his uncle, but his green eyes gave him away.

"Yeah, and she loves me too". Derek looked at him for a second before saying the last thing John expected him to ever say.

"I know". John barely had time to react before the sky above them exploded into blue light and the drone flew out of it. They watched it as the drone circled out of sight before nearly crash landing in the hanger; lucky for them it was no where near or anything else. John knew that something was wrong when he saw wisps of smoke rising off Cameron. She climbed off the drone shakily before collapsing onto the floor.

"CAMERON"! He shouted as he ran to her side. A panel popped off the side and the T-1000 flowed out and took shape, making Derek hesitate for a second at the sight of the machine taking form. The T-1000 reached out his arms and caught John to prevent him from touching her, which made John mad.

"LET ME GO"! For once the machine disobeyed this order because he needed to protect him.

"I cant let you yet, her metal is too hot to touch".

"Then I wont touch it, just let me go to her". He growled before the LMT let him go. He kneeled down next to her and she looked up at him.

"How bad is it"? His voice held more than a little worry in it. She smiled a little while trying to clear her mind from the sensory backlog and stood up.

"Skin deep, I was just overwhelmed by the amount of sensory flow". Cameron remotely released Allison from the drone, but she had fallen asleep. Allison's body was so tired from the self imposed starvation and the energy drawn from the nanites to repair her body.

John stood up with Cameron, relieved the damage wasn't deeper . He walked over to the drone where Derek was staring at the brown haired machine's open midsection with curiosity. Derek stared for only a moment before he turned his attention back to the sleeping girl. John motioned for the T-1000 to leave and he did so, John just wanted this moment to be between them.

"She looks just like you". John whispered as Cameron turned the girl on her back and putting her neck into a more natural position. Cameron seemingly took in her surroundings after finally clearing her mind and getting it back to normal. She looked around and locked eyes on Derek who had his hand on Allison's shoulder, as if he was making sure she was really there.

"Derek"? The man looked up at the machine and grunted a little bit.

"Nice to see you too". Cameron looked up at John with questioning eyes.

"Out of all the people you could save you chose him"? John stifled a laugh while Derek glared at her. Cameron tried with all of her might to suppress a smile, but was only partly successful as she looked at Derek with a visible smirk on her face.

"I fooled you again". She said as the smirk fell into a full blown grin. Derek shook his head and looked up to the ceiling as if asking God what he did to deserve this.

"You changed even more haven't you"? He said as he let out a long breath, his mind still trying to get used to this new life that had been dropped on him.

"Not really, I just started showing who I had become".

"The part I kept seeing glimpses of". Cameron just smirked slightly before turning her attention to her human twin.

"We need to get her on an IV drip right away". She said with a little concern in her voice, Derek looked at her before picking Allison up gently.

"Support her neck Derek, it's still healing". He looked at her in confusion, her neck looked fine.

"From what"? Cameron looked down at the floor in shame before she looked up again, eyes full of regret.

"From when I crushed it". She said before walking down the hanger to go get the necessary medical supplies. Derek stared at her as she left, angry that she had killed her in the first place, but thankful because she saved her.

"Derek, lets go to my room; I'm sure Cameron wants to keep an eye on her". Derek looked at him and headed for the back while John closed the doors to the hanger. As he was walking back John wondered what Allison was going to be like and if his Allison would become anything like her. He just shrugged his shoulders while he caught up to his uncle, he would find out soon enough.

About 6 hours later Allison was in his bed with an IV in her arm. Cameron was laying next to her as her flesh healed, and she needed to be still for that. The T-1000 had joined her flesh using MPA so the lower half of her anatomy would not die from lack of blood flow. They had given Cameron shots in different spots which were filled with nutrients that would speed up the healing to a matter of hours.

John had just gotten out of the shower when he heard his name being called in the dark room.

"John". Cameron repeated. John knew it was her because the voice was flat.

"Yeah Cam"?

"Allison will wake up soon, we need to have a familiar face around so she doesn't freak out". She just finished that sentence when someone knocked on the door. John opened it to the sight of his mother holding baby Allison in her arms. Sarah's face was happy until she saw the scar on his face. She gently touched it and saw that it seemed months old.

"John"? John hugged his mother first before explaining what had happened.

"Shrapnel caught me in the face, Weaver put MPA on it and now its all good".

"I thought it wasn't supposed to leave a scar"? John smiled ever so slightly.

"It's fate's seal on all the John Connor's mom, I'm fine". Sarah put down her motherly instincts for the moment before she handed Allison to John . John smiled at the baby and kissed her head.

"How are you doing"? He asked the one year old. She smiled and playfully slapped him as she always did.

"Momma"? She asked. John smiled again before taking her into the room. Sarah followed him into the room and shut the door. When she turned around she froze when saw the twins laying on the bed. John didn't notice as he handed the little girl to Cameron who was grinning at seeing the baby again. Allison laid down on Cameron's chest while Cameron held her close, eyes glassy from joy at seeing her little girl again. John finally noticed his mother staring at older Allison and explained.

"Cameron rescued her because she wanted to make up for killing her".

"So this is the Allison she was based off of"? John nodded.

"Yeah, it would be best if you weren't here when she wakes up, I don't want to crowd her, but I do need to get Connor". Both walked out of the room and went their separate ways.

John went down to the room that Future John was given to sleep in. He knocked on the door and waited. The door opened about a minute later and a tired looking forty-four year old man looked at John.

"Yeah"? John looked closely and could tell that the man had been crying at some point in the night, but decided not to mention it.

"I let Cameron do it". Connor's eyes widened and his jaw clenched shut, obviously he wasn't expecting that.

"And"? He sounded very anxious. John's lips turned up slightly.

"She succeeded". Connor pushed past his younger self and began running down the hall, John had to take off after him, wondering how he could run like that at his age. He caught up to him just as he opened the door.

Connor looked around and saw the three on the bed. He knew which one was his Allison, he had seen had stayed by her side when she had nightmares. He walked over slowly and knelt down beside her, staring with wide eyes the whole time.

"Allison..." For once in his life something had been given back to him, first it was seeing Cameron and Sarah again, and all the others who were here that were new versions of the ones he once knew. He held her hand as he noticed her eyes beginning to open.

Allison Young took a deep breath as consciousness returned to her. She felt a warm, strong hand holding her right and what felt like baby hands touching her left arm. She opened her eyes and blinked them so they would focus. She smiled when her eyes met her fathers, even though she had never called him that. She decided now was a good time to start though, she had always loved him like one. She squeezed his hand back as she greeted her father.

"Hey Dad". She smiled weakly as she said it. Connor was surprised she called him that, and it melted his heart. Only she and Cameron had ever been able to do that. He leaned down and did something he only had done once, and kissed her on the forehead.

"How you feeling"? He said as he rubbed his thumb over her small knuckles. She moved her neck a little and regretted it.

"Like a terminator went ten rounds with my neck". It popped as she moved it, and she winced every time.

"Actually you went one round with me". Cameron said a little bluntly, causing Allison to look in her direction. Allison screamed at the sight of the cyborg and jumped into Connor's arms, despite the pain.

Both John's rolled their eyes at Cameron's bluntness, she still hadn't learned how to smooth her speech out completely.

"Shhhh, It's alright she's on our side". Connor said while holding his daughter tightly and rubbing circles on her back. Allison popped her head up and looked at him incredulously.

"You mean she was telling the truth"?

"About what"?

"Time traveling just to save me"?

"Yes, it's true, but I didn't order her to, she did it because she wanted to". Allison looked at him funny.

"Let's not talk about that right now. For me you've been dead for over year, and now..." He looked away his eyes becoming glassy. She embraced him again tightly as she could in her weakened state.

"I'm here now, I'm so sorry for leaving you alone". The moment was interrupted by the sound of a baby giggling like an idiot. Both turned their heads toward the sound to see the baby girl laughing as she was playing with her rather young father.

"Who are they"? Allison asked Connor. He just smiled before he answered.

"Take a closer look".

Allison looked hard at the young man, it didn't take her long to recognize the scar, eyes, hair and voice.

"It's... you, only younger..."

"Not really, I never met my older self or had a little girl to take care of Allison, were in the next timeline, the one Skynet and I created in our temporal war".

"You told me once that your father was from the future and that was how you knew about the machines, so you repeated the cycle again"? Connor smirked at Allison's brilliant mind.

"Only certain things seem to be repeated, but there are always differences". Young John spoke up as he put little Allison on the bed. Little Allison crawled over to Cameron and crawled onto Cameron and began batting the mole on her eyebrow. Cameron smiled as she played with the little girl. Allison stared at the cyborg and the baby playing with one another, she was in wonderment at the cyborg's abilities to entertain a baby like it did.

"She's beautiful isn't she"? Cameron asked the older Allison.

"I guess..." She didn't really know what to say.

"I know she is because she'll look just like us". Cameron said while holding the baby in the air, she was laughing and kicking her feet while she played airplane.

"You mean..." Cameron looked at her before handing her the baby. Allison looked at her left brow, and sure enough that tell-tale mole was there. Allison was too overwhelmed to say anything as she put her little self down, and she just stared off into space.

"This is too much..." She pulled the IV out of her arm and tried to stand up, failing miserably. John knew what she needed, he knew what helped to clear a mind when it was confused.

"If you need to clear your head, do what I do".

"Which is what"?

"Take a hot shower". She laughed a little at his statement.

"I haven't taken a shower in years, and I can't even stand". John knew she was pretty dirty, but there was only one other woman in the room, and he doubted she'd want her to help.

"I can help you, my wound is almost healed". Cameron said as she got up, her wound no longer affected by movement. Allison shrank back a little as the cyborg stood up.

"I'm not the same as before, I will not hurt you". She said as she walked around and kneeled down next to her side of the bed.

"She wont hurt you, just let her help". Connor whispered into her ear. Allison put her arm around the cyborg cautiously and let her help her stand up. Allison was still pretty weak, but she was much better than before. Cameron helped her into the shower after taking off the white garments she had on. Cameron knew she would have to help Allison stand up so Cameron took off what little cloths she had on already and got in the shower. Cameron noticed that Allison was staring at her, probably wondering how detailed her cyborg copy was, and she reassured her she was very detailed. Cameron turned on the water to a temperature that was not too hot and not too cold. They said nothing to one another as Cameron cleansed off of Allison years of dirt and grime. When they were done Allison let her trim her hair and do other things if she was going to fit into this time period.

The whole time Allison really didn't pay attention to what was going on, but just thinking about all that had been said and all she had seen. The cyborg who killed her had returned to the scene of the crime and resurrected her, took her to a new timeline where her father and his alternate counter part were with her younger self! The neck suddenly didn't hurt as bad as her head was.

Allison was snapped back to reality when she heard her voice calling out to her.

"I'm finished". Allison looked at the cyborg. She stood up with a little help, but her strength was returning now. She looked into the mirror at herself, she looked clean and felt clean too. She ran her hands over her skin taking in the feeling of no dirt, grease, or grime on it. She smiled a little before Cameron spoke again.

"I'll get you some cloths, do you have any preference"? Allison shook her head no, she didn't have choice of clothing for most of her life.

"I think I might know what you'll like". The cyborg walked out of the bathroom and came back a minute later with a t-shirt, loose fitting jeans, underwear, bra, and socks. Allison was strong enough to put her own cloths on. When they walked out of the bathroom Allison saw that they were alone in the room. Cameron read the note that was on the table and went back to Allison.

"They went to the mess hall to eat, do you want to go"?

"Sure, I haven't eaten since..." She trailed off as she noticed Cameron's face darkening at the mention of her captivity.

"I'm sorry". Cameron said before her face brightened into a smile. "Lets go before they eat all the food". Allison's jaw just dropped at the cyborg's attempt at humor.

"Was that supposed to be funny"? Cameron put an arm around her waist while Allison put an arm around her shoulders and they began walking down the hall.

"I have changed a lot since I interrogated you, for me that was two and half years ago. Since then I have been blown apart, rebuilt, reprogrammed, and given a chance to grow, live among humans and learn from them. All I ask of you is to give me a chance to make up for what I did". Cameron's voice was sincere and Allison heard it, but tones of voices could be faked so she looked into the machine's eyes and saw the sincerity in them.

"I'll try, but for now just let me adjust to all...this..." They continued through the halls until they met someone coming down the hall.

"Hello Savannah". Cameron greeted the redhead. Savannah just gave the two a weird look before returning the greeting.

"Hello Cameron, I didn't know you had a sister". Allison snorted a little at the statement because she thought it was funny.

"I don't have a sister Savannah, this is Allison".

"Allison is a baby, I'm not stupid".

"No your not, there are two Allison's here now, and I was made to look like her".

"Oh, I haven't seen her before. Did she just get here"?

"Yes, just this morning". Savannah put on a toothy smile and greeted the new guest like her mommy taught her.

"Hello Allison". She said while putting her hand out. Allison took her hand and returned the gesture.

"Nice to meet you Savannah". Allison maybe from the future, but that didn't mean John hadn't taught her manners.

"I need to get going, Mr. Ellison, John Henry, and I are going to play a game". She walked down the hall to the CNC as Cameron waved goodbye.

"She knows what you are"?

"Yes, Savannah knows all the machines here, and there are several". Allison wasn't afraid of friendly machines, she was the one who helped develop reprogramming.

"How many, and what kind are they"?

"Five total, I'm a TOK, we have the T-1000, a T-1001, A Skynet-like AI in a T-888 body, and a T-X". Allison didn't know what most of those were, except for the T-1000 and the T-888.

"I don't know what half of those are".

"You will soon enough". She said cryptically as they entered the cafeteria. Only a few people were in the mess hall. Cameron identified them as both Johns, Sarah, and little Allison. Cameron got a plate of food for Allison before they sat down.

"You look like you feel better". Future John said to his daughter.

"Yeah, I feel a lot better now that I have had the most though cleaning since I was two". She said with a mouth full of food, she was hungry as hell.

She looked around the table and saw Sarah, but it took her a minute to recognize her face.

"I know you, you're Sarah Connor".

"Yeah, how did you know"?

"A picture that a friend had, John gave it to him for some reason". The former general thought it was time Allison knew some things about this new situation they were in.

"Allison, I gave Kyle that picture because I knew I might have to send him back one day to protect Sarah from a Skynet attack".

"Did you"? Connor just nodded. Allison noticed the look on his face and the one on Sarah's as well.

"He died protecting me from a T-800, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him". Allison's face fell and tears welled in her eyes, The Reese boys had been like brothers to her after she was rescued by John. Kyle had been especially close to John and that meant that they were in the same base often times and interacted with each other on a regular basis. A few came down her cheeks before the young John took her hand and Sarah the other.

"Kyle Reese saved me, but he also loved me, and I loved him. We were only together for two days but we loved a lifetimes worth".

"What are you trying to say? That Kyle Reese is his father"? She said pointing to young John. Then she remembered that her John's father was from the future. "He is, isn't he"? She finished in almost a whisper.

"Sargent Kyle Reese is my father, and the father of nearly every John Connor that has existed". Allison covered her face with her hands, she had not had her world rocked like this since J-Day and even then this was proving to be a darn good rival.

"What about Derek? Is he still alive"? She asked with hope on her face.

"I'm still kicking metal Allie". They all turned the heads towards the voice coming from the mess hall entrance. Allison's face showed shock before she got up and ran to the fuzzy faced soldier.

"Derek"! She yelled as she jumped into his arms while Cameron cocked her head at the girls sudden burst of energy.

Derek Reese hugged the girl he considered a sister and a friend, someone who he had missed ever since he lost her.

"You look better than when I carried you in last night".

"You carried me in"?

"Yeah, I was standing with John when you guys came through".

Allison's face grew sad as she thought about Kyle.

"Derek, I heard about Kyle, I'm sorry". Derek let out a long breath as he thought of his brother, but he had gotten over that a while ago, it was hard, but he had done it.

"He died for a purpose, and there is no greater purpose to a Reese than protecting John Connor, even if that means becoming his father". She nodded slowly before her beautiful face turned into a full blown smile.

"Come on porky". She said as she poked his stomach which was larger than she remembered. "There's some good food here and I'm still hungry".

Allison seemed back to her usual self with her belly full, and that made Derek's day far better than it already was...

* * *

After breakfast, John decided to hunt down Annika to see how she was doing, plus he wanted to know if she had met Andy yet or not. He wasn't normally the type to care about these sort of things, but since this might be the first relationship between man and machine since him and Cameron, he was curious.

He found her in the lab working on the weapon arm of the headless endo. It was currently in about a hundred pieces and she was working on one of them.

"Hello John, did you solve your crisis from earlier"?

"In a way, we have a new guest now because of it".

"Cameron saved Allison"? Interest clear in her crystal blue eyes.

"Yeah, she saved her template and brought her here".

"Really? I didn't expect her to risk herself like that".

"Cameron has always been a tad unpredictable". John walked over to the blonde T-X and looked over her shoulder at what she was doing. "Why are you working on this when there is someone you need to be talking to"? She put down her tools slowly before looking up at him.

"I don't know what to do, I never thought I'd see him again". Her features clearly showed she needed guidance.

"I already told him you feel for him, just tell him how you feel".

"John, I'm not as simple as I once was, I... just... don't know how to approach him".

"Come on, were going to find him and let you two talk to one another". He smiled and held out his hand for her to take. She took it and stood up while her face still showed her reluctance. They went down the hall to where Sarah had told them Andy was staying in. On the way there Annika remembered her conversation with Future John and she knew this John needed to know.

"John, remember how strange Future John acted when he came to warn you"?

"Yeah, He was looking at you rather strangely, like he knew you".

"That's because he did, but not this version of me". John rolled his eyes at himself for not thinking of that before.

"What was there relationship like? Friend, foe, best buddies, protector"?

"Wife". John's eyes looked like dinner plates when she said that.

"What? Future John was married to a machine and no one knew"?

"She died on J-Day, plasma reactor damage". John's winced a little at that, he thought about Cameron and how tore up he would be if he lost her.

"How long were they together"?

"They knew each other for a little over five years but were married for only a few weeks".

"That...sucks, and on J-day too". John got to thinking really hard and Annika noticed.

"You going to get her aren't you"? John looked up with surprise on his face.

"Are you sure your model doesn't have a mind reading capability"? She smirked a little at his joke.

"Yes I'm sure, what plan have you come up with"?

"I don't know where they were at, nor the time, but since trans timeline jumps aren't that accurate we'll get there early that day and wait".

"I know the where, but not the when, presumably in the morning or early afternoon since the missiles fell about 4 pm on LA".

"This ought to be interesting, we better tell John Henry so he'll keep it to himself when we leave".

"We'll need to take her apart before we leave because from the sound of it, her thoracic region is heavily damaged and not salvageable, but the legs, arms, head, and abdomen we need to take with us".

"How are we going to carry all that"?

"I'll bring a cargo bag and strap it to myself, I will be over the clamps that hold you on".

"Your liquid metal is still damaged. How are you going form straps to hold yourself on"? Annika smiled.

"Lets go back to the lab and I'll show you how I'm going to fix that problem". John had an idea to what he was getting at so he followed her back to the lab. She went over to the headless endo and injected some of her NTJs into the neck.

"I'm taking this endo's MPA, and putting my old MPA into that container". Annika pointed to a metal container in the corner. John brought it over and she stood in it after taking her cloths off.

"Ready"? She nodded and her skin turned silver and dropped from her like rain into the container. She stepped out and walked over to the endo and activated it remotely, the endo glowed blue briefly before the liquid metal poured out and formed a layer over the endo. Annika touched it and it began flowing up her arm and over her body. She was nearly covered, all but the head. She went back over to the tub filled with her liquid metal and absorbed some of it to complete her new sheath. Her features formed and took color.

"How's it feel"? She grinned as she ran her hands across her body testing the sensitivity.

"Perfect, what few nanites I have from my old sheath I can now fully repair with the new ones". She said while John handed her the cloths she had been wearing.

Once she dressed they headed out of the lab and went to the hanger. John used the intercom up there to tell JH they would be heading out for a while, and to divert the satellites. John hopped on the drone and locked in while Annika laid over him while using her liquid metal to strap herself to the drone. The doors were opened to the drone and they took off; seconds later the drone hit time jump speed and disappeared in a flash of blue light.

* * *

Cameron was carrying little Allison to go see Lauren and Sydney, she hadn't gotten to talk to her in a while and she knew Allison liked to play with Sydney. She knocked on Lauren's door and waited.

"Hey Cameron, I glad you got back in one piece". The Lauren hugged the TOK as she came in the door. Cameron put Allison down on the floor with Sydney and they began to play.

"So am I". She said flatly. "How have you been"?

"I was worried about you, but we still got along here. Didn't we Sydney"? The baby paid no attention as she was to occupied with her toys.

"It was cold where we went. We also met their version of John Connor too, he was very cunning".

"In what way"?

"He captured me and Annika without too much trouble, if it wasn't for the T-1000..."

"Everything worked out though, how did John find you"?

"Temporal beacon in my chest, he used the time machine and found us".

"I feel like I live in a science fiction show sometimes".

"You're not the first person to say that". Lauren laughed a little.

"I heard that we have some new people staying with us, rescued using the time machine".

"Yes, John rescued Derek and Andy Goode. I rescued my original template, Allison Young when I found out that Future John was here".

"Yeah, science fiction show doesn't do our lives justice". Lauren said as she put her hand on her head thinking about what Cameron had said. That was when John Henry came over the intercom and addressed Cameron.

_"Cameron, would you please come to the CNC, I need to speak to you"._

"I am on my way". Cameron asked Lauren to watch Allison for a while so she can take care of business with John Henry. She walked down the corridors without saying a word or showing emotion on her face even though she was curious as to what he had to say. She entered the CNC and the cyborg looked at Cameron.

"Hello Cameron, I need to give you a message from John". That worried Cameron a little, he would have to be gone to need to give her a message.

"What is it"? She said flatly, but her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"'I am not the first John Connor to love a machine.' That is all he said before he took off with Annika on the HK drone". Now Cameron was worried; she thought of all the things that he could be doing, all the places he could possibly be, and all the danger that might kill him.

"Thank you John Henry". She said as she walked out of the room and down the hall to see Future John, she wanted to know what her John had meant, and she knew only one person he could be referring to.

She knocked on Future John's door and he answered a minute later.

"Cameron, what can I do for you"?

"We need to talk". She looked over his shoulder and saw Allison. "Alone". The girl frowned at that.

"Why can't I be around"?

"She has a point Cameron, the war is over for me and I'm done keeping secrets". Future John looked her in the eye when he spoke again. "You need not to keep so many secrets, I know that it is in your nature, but you should know by now that lies and secrets can tear friends, families, and alliances apart. Just as the secrets you kept from John, Sarah, and Derek almost ended your existence".

Cameron bowed her head as she remembered Sarah's admittance to nearly shooting her the night after Riley was killed.

"Fine, can I come in"? Connor stood aside and walked in, her twin keeping an eye on her.

"What did you need to talk about"? Cameron realized she needed to talk about two things to him, but first things first.

"John told me earlier that he wasn't the first John Connor to love a machine, since the only other John Connor we've met isn't in love with a machine, that leaves only you".

Connor gulped a little, and both brown haired beauties noticed. Connor realized he needed to come clean about this to both of his adopted daughters.

"He was right, I was in love with a machine, long before either of you existed".

"Who"? Cameron asked while Allison's mouth gaped.

"The previous timeline's version of the machine you call Annika". Cameron's eyes widened considerably, Allison was confused.

"You're being serious aren't you"? Cameron said to the man with loss clearly on his face.

"She died on Judgement Day". Now Cameron knew what John was doing with the time machine, she was angered he didn't bother telling her before he left.

"Wait a minute, my father, the leader of the resistance was in love with a machine"? Allison said in shocked voice. Cameron and Connor glared at her before Cameron spoke her mind.

"The younger John and I love each other more than you can imagine and Annika loves Andy just as much. There is nothing wrong with mutual love".

"Whatever". Cameron decided to ignore her for now and she continued her conversation with her father.

"What happened"?

"Her reactor was damaged in an attack, she knocked me out when I refused to leave and had Bedell carry me away".

"I'm sorry for your loss, were you married"? Connor barely nodded as he struggled to maintain his emotionless mask. He decided to change the subject fast before he lost it, and he hated showing his emotions in front of others.

"Cameron, now that you've done what you did, are you ready to accept it now"? He said as he pulled out the vial. Cameron nodded and took it from him, but Allison wanted to know what was going on.

"What is she accepting"? Cameron looked over at the nineteen year old and decided that since it was her project that she should know.

"I am accepting the final version of your project"

Allison's jaw hung open at what she just heard. She quickly shut her mouth before she swiftly reached out and grabbed the vial out of the cyborgs hands. She looked TOK715 up and down before she looked her in the eyes. Her features hardened so that she nearly matched her cyborg counterpart.

"Both of you come with me". She walked out of the room and the two followed. Allison followed the signs until she got to the Terminator lab. After they had gone in Allison found a scalpel and stood next to the second exam table.

"Lie down Cameron". Her voice was as emotionless as Cameron's usually was.

"Why"?

"You want this? I want to see what you are first before I give it over". Then she turned her attention to her father. "You're going to explain to me exactly what you had in mind for her when you finished my work".

"Fine" both said before Cameron stripped down to nothing and laid down on the table. Allison was still amazed by the detail Skynet put into Cameron, in some ways it was down right creepy. She cut her newly healed abdomen open all the way to the breastplate and looked inside. She saw the digestive system and the reproductive system and thought that these would be perfect for her project. Then she saw the modified hips and spine and she knew that this body was ready for her project. She sowed her back up and looked at her, and then at John. She wanted to know what he had finished the project and what his intentions were with this machine.

"She's ready for it, but what I want to know is what this is all going to do". She said as she held the metal vial in the air.

"Make her a true cyborg and allow her to have human sensation, just the way we do, she will also have the ability to have children".

"Not my children she won't".

"No, but since she looks like you she will have some of your DNA in her, but the baby will be part machine too".

"A hybrid? Why would you do that"?

"We are all machines Allison, just different kinds. In the timeline they went to they saw a man who was turned into a hybrid but managed to keep his soul intact. We are not that different". Allison looked at the vial and whispered to herself.

"This will change everything". When she looked away from the vial she addressed her cyborg twin in a serious voice.

"You better take care of yourself because this will change not only your body, but your mind as well. It will change the way your mind processes sensory signals into a human like pattern with your enhancements left in place. You will get hungry, feel the need to take care of your organics like we do, you will also feel pain unless you are in battle mode. The chemical changes in the organics will affect you like it would a woman. Do you accept these terms? Do you accept the responsibility that comes with the possibility of having children"?

"Yes, I do. I will accept the consequences of my actions and the responsibility that will come if I ever have children". Cameron said in a resolute voice.

"I will hold you to that". Allison said as she handed her the vial.

Cameron uncapped the vial and stared at it, she knew that things would never be the same if she did this, but John was willing to have children with her, and now they would be part of her as well. She closed her eyes and drank the blue silver liquid...

* * *

A/N: Things will never be the same again for Cameron...

Derek seems to have chilled a lot in this story, the whole point of that is to show that Derek is smart and aware of his surroundings more than people give him credit for. He also has had time to get over a lot of bad things in his life. He also seemed to change his mind a little concerning Cameron toward the end of the series and now with her current behavior I want to see what Derek Reese can become.

I hope people like my portrayal of the original Allison. Read and Review! I really want to know what you think of her so far.


	33. Love Is In The Air

**A/N: This Chapter may seem a little choppy, but there is a lot happening in it.**

**I want to thank eitam for the idea of putting Annika and Andy together.**

**Read and Review, comments are always appreciated.**

**Note: I reposted this chapter with the proper chapter number..**

**Chapter 33 : Love Is In The Air**

**April 21, 2011 (previous timeline) 5 am**

The drone appeared high in the sky above Crystal Peak and quickly took off in the direction of Nevada.

Annika and John were heading for Grooms Lake where Area 51 was located. It would take about an half and hour or so to get there.

"What's the plan John, since you wanted to do this on the fly, then let's at least get some sort of plan in place before Skynet takes over and hell on earth begins".

John had already been thinking about this for a while now.

"We need to find them as they approach the base, then hide as everything goes down. Once Bedell takes him away, we move in and take her by force if we have to, Then we disassemble her as much as we can before the reactor blows, the head being the priority".

"What about unfriendlies"?

"We evade unless they are Skynet controlled machines, then we use the 20mm to take them down".

"Sounds good, what if we can't evade human controlled machines"?

"We can evade them, our drone is better than an any jet in maneuverability, but if they manage to lock on, shoot them down".

"Sounds good, bet we need to hide until dawn". Annika said as she set the drone down about 40 miles away from the base in a small desert canyon.

"Annika, can you confirm that this is the right timeline"?

"Yes, I'll just search the internet for my facial profile and cross-reference with her name". She connected to the cell network and was glad the Skynet hadn't taken it over just yet. She searched through it and found a match. The description was spot on and the name was right.

"We are in the right timeline John". John nodded as they sat on the drone looking off into the distance. They chatted for a while, but ended up in silence as the sun rose above the horizon.

"And to think that almost no one knows that today is the last time they will see the sunrise like this in their lifetime . John said as the rays filled the canyon with sunlight and bathed both of them in its warmth.

"It'll most likely happen to us too".

"I know Annika, and when we go back I want us to take a picture of all of us together looking at a sunrise so we always remember what it was like". Annika thought that was a good idea, if not solemn one.

"We need to get going, we don't know when they attempted to stop Skynet".

"Is Skynet in Area 51"?

"I'd think at least part of it is, but I doubt the military put in one place, but this could be the major node. If it was then it would weaken the AI considerably and give them a greater chance of defeating the machines quickly".

"Obviously that didn't happen". Annika shook her head in agreement.

"Yes, but if we know what's coming then that is what we need to do, weaken it, if not stop it when the world realizes what's about to happen".

"That is a good idea. Hopefully John Henry can give us some targets to hunt soon".

"Skynet's front companies aren't run by machines, but by humans, and humans will eventually mess up".

"Machines aren't perfect either, they mess up too".

"In these situations not very often". She said as they got back on the drone and took off. They flew high in the sky so they would not be noticed down below. Radar would not be a problem with the advanced stealth material built into the drone.

They waited until they picked up a small convoy heading to the base. The convoy forced their way past the guards and began taking over the place. Annika relayed events to John as they spied on the battle down below. Then the fun began as drones began to move in on base as well as troops. The battle was getting messy and Annika could clearly see her twin causing hell to the attacking soldiers, and a few T1s as well. By this time Annika began to notice Skynet's presence on the internet and begin to take over rather quickly. She began noticing the drones and T1's actions becoming more and more intelligent. Apparently her other self saw this and notified the others to retreat. They were making their way out the back side of the main building. Just a few of the original thirty were there, including Connor, Bethany, and Bedell. Her eyes and the sensors on the drone picked up another drone that resembled the Reaper closing in on the group.

"John, it's about to happen".

"Get ready". He said as the missile left the Skynet controlled drone and streaked toward Bethany. The anti-armor missile was small, but highly effective and it impacted the T-X in the chest, sending her flying a good seventy feet or so. They watched the drama on the ground as John and Bedell hurried over to the stricken machine. An argument broke out between the couple before she knocked him out. Bedell carried him away and got into a Humvee with the rest and drove off, firing at the drones as they went. Bethany walked slowly off into the desert before collapsing to the ground, the damage apparently becoming too great.

"Lets go". John said as Annika showed him what was going on by flipping drone upside down.

"We need to take out those drone's first".

"Do it then, but we need to hurry or we'll be caught in the blast".

Annika wasted no time as she took out the drones with the 20mm cannon before they even got the chance to lock on, this drone had a far better capabilities. She quickly began the decent toward her other self who was still lying on the ground, chest smoking as the reactor began burning through its protective lining. The drone landed fifteen feet from her and the two jumped off. John opened the panel and pulled out the bag and unzipped it while Annika assessed the situation. She realized they had ten minutes at best before they had a containment breach on their hands.

"John hurry, we don't have much time". At this point the endoskull looked up at them, eyes flickering along with the blue accents on her body.

"Wh..who are you peop..people". Bethany managed to get out as her power systems fluctuated. Annika looked over at her alternate self and spoke.

"I am an alternate version of yourself from the next timeline, I came along with our John Connor to save you. We have the means to fix you but we need to take you apart before the reactor goes critical".

Bethany filtered what she said and realized it was her own voice, her optics were out due to the power flux and she couldn't see.

"Why would you risk your own timeline to save me? What reason would you have"? She labored out as she struggled to control her vocal synthesizer.

"Your John Connor came back in time to warn us about something after the end of the war, he's alone and he needs you. He nearly fell apart when he saw me". Annika said.

"Listen, we don't have much time, let us take you apart, we have a spare T-X endoskeleton back home". Bethany knew that voice, the voice of the one she loved, but according to the other voice that sounded like her it wasn't. She knew that this might be a trick by some other machine and she wasn't going to let them use her against John.

"No, I won't let you have this technology, I won't let you use it against him..." She trailed off before her endo shut off power to her chip to prevent damage.

"Can you take it apart manually"? John yelled over the fighting in the distance grew louder as Skynet began attacking.

Annika nodded as she unleashed her NTJs into the base of the neck and began to access the locking mechanism. She quickly undid it and took hold of the neck, she turned off the plasma flow to it and gave it a sharp yank, detaching it from the rest of her. She handed it to John as she began to work on the arms and lower torso. The right arm was primary due to the special weapons it contained and she handed it to John, next she detached the legs and then left arm. The plasma reactor was housed behind the middle of the upper breast-plate and the round had penetrated the gap between the upper and lower breast-plate and done its damage there, which left he abdomen and hips intact, but not the chest or shoulders. Annika had three minutes left and she had released most of the locks and she began to separate the abdomen from the chest. She pulled it apart, leaving the damaged actuators behind and tearing the spinal cord apart, but those could be fixed or replaced. John zipped up the bag before he hopped onto the drone; Annika picked up the bag and put it on her back, she too got onto the drone and took off before Annika had fully attached herself to the drone's main body. They hit max velocity and left the blast radius just as the reactor blew.

"I feel sorry for him, having to live all those years with out her".

"I know how he feels John, and I can't thank you enough for doing what you did". John couldn't miss the appreciation she had in her voice.

"Then go talk to him, a simple hello would do you know".

"I want too, I just don't know what to say". She said almost in a whisper as the time machine activated and the emitters fired, sending them back to where they came...

* * *

**July 26, 2009 8 pm**

The HK-VTOL drone appeared about forty or so miles away from Crystal Peak, but it was dark enough that it didn't matter. They made their way back to the mountain in no time at all and they set down inside the hanger. Weaver was there doing maintenance on the jet; she looked at them curiously as they got off the drone and began walking to the bunker.

"Where have you two been"?

"On a rather impromptu mission, just got back". John said to the T-1001.

"What's in the bag"?

"Pieces to another T-X" He finished as they entered the tunnel to the elevator. Weaver pondered on that for a second before she went back to work, but didn't dwell on it for long because she had things to do before her and Sarah went on another supply in a couple of days.

John and Annika exited the elevator and walked down the halls to the Terminator lab. They met no one on the way there as they traversed the halls and arrived at the door minutes later. Annika put the bag on the table next to the other endo and began to unpack.

"How long until the endo is fixed"? John asked the T-X.

"Ten minutes, no more. All I have to do is transplant the right arm since I'm still working on the other one, then the neck. I will put the head on after we extract the chip".

"Sounds good, we need to reprogram her before we let her loose around the base, she may have been able to hold back from killing her John, but that doesn't mean she wont try to kill me".

"Good plan, you need to talk to Andy about that".

"We both need to talk to Andy". She pretended to ignore him as she detached the head from the neck and set it aside.

"Why are you so afraid to talk to him? I didn't tell Cameron how I felt for a long time because I didn't know if she could feel or not". She put down the neck and let out a long sigh.

"What if he doesn't love me? He wanted to date Sarah before you rescued him! I just don't know what I'll do if he doesn't". John pulled the distraught young woman into his arms and held her tight, he knew how she felt because he had felt that way about Cameron for so long and he knew how it could tear you up inside. He let go of her and and put his hands on her shoulders.

"If you never ask, you will never know. Don't make the same mistake I did". She nodded and he let her go. She had tears in her eyes but continued working on the endo as she replaced the neck and right arm with ease. She then proceeded to hack into the locks of the cranial armor protecting the port cover and released them. She undid the locking cylinders and removed the cover. She hesitated when she reached for the chip. To her it seemed a little creepy to see your own chip, albeit an alternate version. She reached down and twisted it counterclockwise before pulling it out. She put it into the an anti-static bag and handed it to John.

"I'll go get him after I power up the reprogramming computer. Where is the adapter for your chip"? She looked up from aligning the skull into place with the neck.

"With the others in the cabinet".

John went into the adjoining room with the computer and powered it up after he installed the T-X chip adapter, but he dared not insert the chip. Besides, he needed to talk to Andy and Future John first before he did anything with the brain of a sentient individual. When he went out he saw Annika putting the final touches on the endo.

"Annika, lets go; you know your own internal workings well and Andy did work on you before, It would be best if you work on this together".

"Fine John, I will go with you". He could tell she wasn't thrilled at the prospect at confronting the man she loved, but she was willing and that was more than he could say he did before he had real proof of Cameron's feelings. They walked down the hall until they got to Andy's room and John knocked on the door. John motioned her to move off to the side when he heard the door unlock. When the door opened he was greeted by Andy's cheerful face.

"Hey John, what can I do for you"? John reached into the bag and pulled out Bethany's chip. Andy's face darkened a little as he recognized the chip.

"What are you doing with Annika's chip"?

"This isn't Annika's chip, but it is a T-X chip that we might need your help to reprogram". Andy gave him a weird look before he slipped on his shoes and walked out. When he did, he heard a breath hitch off to his left. He snapped his head toward the origin and was greeted by the sight of the blonde haired beauty he missed so much. Her eyes had tears in them and her breathing was a little ragged.

"Hey Annika..." He said in a quiet voice, she looked into his eyes, not knowing what to say to him. He decided to make the first move and cupped her cheek with his hand. She leaned into the gesture but kept her eyes locked on his.

"Andy...I...I don't know..." He put a finger over her lips to quiet her.

For a long time Andy Goode didn't know what he felt for the machine standing in front of him; he never could figure it out and that is why he tried dating Sarah, but when he had been told that Annika loved him he felt like the condensation on the windows of his own heart had finally been wiped clean. That was when he understood what he was feeling for her for the first time. He loved her, he had for quite a while now that he thought about it. Why he hadn't figured it out sooner he didn't know, maybe it was because he was a total geek. Now he had that this beautiful machine, this sensitive, emotional, loving woman standing in front of him he could see just how broken she was. She was waiting for him to heal the wounds his death had caused her.

He pulled her into a tight hug and she began to cry tears of joy into his shoulder as tears formed in his eyes. He turned so he could whisper into her ear.

"Annika, it's taken me a long time to realize what I felt for you. For so long I felt lost in my own feelings as I tried to figure it out, but now I know".

Andy pulled back and looked Annika in the eyes while brushing her honey blonde hair out of her face.

Then he said something she had only imagined him saying.

"I love you Annika". Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open. He just smiled as leaned in and kissed her. It started off a little awkward, both were unfamiliar with one another but soon they're lips were moving in harmony like they had been together for years. Andy's hands were soon tangled in her hair and her arms were wrapped around his neck. They stood in the middle of the hall lip locked as Andy healed Annika's broken heart, leaving no trace of it behind as he became the glue that held it together.

Neither noticed John back away slowly with a grin a wide as the Grand Canyon...

* * *

John Connor walked down the hall happy that he accomplished what he had set out to do, now he wondered if this is what Future John felt when he found out that he and Cameron were together.

Speaking of his alternate future counterpart, he was nearing his destination so he focused on how he was going to explain himself to Connor when he said that he didn't trust his wife. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to open the door. When the door was opened he didn't expect Cameron to be the one greeting him.

"Cameron"? She looked pale to him and her skin was a little sweaty. She smiled a little before enveloping him in a hug. When she pulled back she had her robot mask of death on.

"Don't do that again". She said in the flatest tone possible

"I'm sorry Cameron, I needed to do this".

"And how did that work out for you"? She said in her flat voice and her mask still in place. John just pulled the chip out of the bag.

"Good, at least the trip wasn't for nothing". He could tell she was pissed and he was going to have to think of way to make up for it. He kissed her on the forehead as a start.

"Cam, why are you so pale and sweaty"? The corners of her lips turned up ever so slightly.

"I'll tell you later, I'm going to pick up Allison and go back to our quarters". John nodded and she allowed him to kiss her on the lips before she left.

John wasn't sure what was going on with her, but he had his suspicions.

He walked in and saw his future self at a table with the older Allison playing some sort of game; he recognized it when he got closer as GO. Cameron and he had played a few games before and he had surprisingly beaten her every time. He strolled over to table and set the chip down on the table, dampener side down. Allison looked up from the board and stared at the unusual chip. Connor did the same and stared at it intently.

"What kind of chip is that"? Connor asked in his trademark gruff voice. John looked at him funny for a second before answering him.

"You don't recognize it"? Both shook their heads no. "That..." He pointed at the neural net processor "...is a T-X chip".

Connor looked up at him with a weird look of his own.

"Why are you showing us Annika's chip"? Connor asked the 17-year old. John smiled ever so slightly as he picked it up again and then looked into matching green eyes.

"That's because it's not hers". He handed it over to F.J. to hold. He turned it over in his hands, he felt some sort of connection to it, one he could not explain.

"Where did you get it from"? Allison asked out of sheer curiosity.

"Your timeline". Connor looked up at him with shock on his face, but Allison looked confused.

"The T-X wasn't invented in our timeline, how could it be from our timeline unless..."

"Unless it was the previous version of Annika, whom I have been told was called Bethany". John finished for her.

General John Connor, former leader of the Resistance against Skynet, was in shock, total utter shock. If his ears weren't playing tricks on him, then he had just been given back the person that meant most to him, the one who gave him the drive to kill Skynet when it killed her. Connor stood up with his mouth still hanging open and walked over to John.

"Why? Why did you do this"? John looked at him like he was stupid, he thought that it was obvious.

"For giving me Cameron, That's why".

Connor thought to himself as tears welled in his eyes. "_I guess John Connor wasn't meant to be alone after all".__  
_

"Where is the endo"? He asked anxiously.

"In the Terminator lab". Connor started walking but John grabbed his arm. "No, I won't risk activating her until we remove the kill order".

"You didn't seem to have any problem reactivating Cameron in that car did you"?

"No, I wasn't as mature as I am now, plus I'm not risking just myself, but everyone else I love. You don't know if she will believe that you are who you say you are since you've aged 17 years".

"She will know me, I know she will".

"Listen, it won't hurt her. Cameron's gone through it, the T-1000, and Annika. It's better than having her fight it all the time"!

Connor stopped trying to force his way out the door and looked at John. He realized that in this moment the young man was acting more mature than he was. He also knew that it would be better for his wife to be given this gift than to force her to override Skynet's orders in the presence of two John Connor's. He agreed to the reprogramming and all three went to the Terminator lab. Connor eyed the endo lying on the table and was half tempted to put the chip in, but the is was his younger self's show now and he would obey. When they entered the room they were greeted by the sight of Annika and Andy kissing each other while he sat at the computer. They sprang apart like teenagers caught in the school janitors closet. John and Allison laughed a little but Connor was uncomfortable at seeing the spitting image of his wife kissing another man.

"Alright, if you two can keep off of each other long enough I would appreciate it if you could get to work on this chip". John said before F.J. handed over Bethany's neural net processor. Connor gave him his best General look and while using his body language to convey what would happen to them if they messed up.

As Andy and Annika began work, Allison voiced that she wanted to stay so she could learn how to properly reprogram the machines. Future John wanted to stay too but he mostly wanted to keep an eye on things.

John on the other hand wanted to go find Cameron now that everything was beginning to settle down. He wanted to spend some quality time with her and maybe even plan an evening so he could give her that ring. He left the four of them in the room and left for his quarters. He opened the door to his room and went in; he took off his boots and closed the door before calling out his beloved's name.

"Cameron, I'm back"! That's when he heard a moan from the bed. He looked over and saw Cameron under the covers, eyes closed and looking like a very sick human. John rushed to her side and put a hand on her forehead instinctively, he was surprised that if felt very warm. He knelt down next to her and his face was hit by hot breath coming out of her mouth. Her fake breaths were never hot, always cool on his face while they laid in bed. John pulled back the covers and saw her cloths were soaked through from sweat. He was beginning to grow frantic as he climbed onto the bed and pulled her into his arms. She weakly embraced him back and put her head on his shoulder.

"John..." She said in tired voice.

"Cameron what's wrong with you? Are you...sick"? She saw the concern in his eyes and she kissed his neck since she couldn't lift her head.

"No...I'm being...completed". With what strength she had left she grabbed his hand and guided it to just beneath her left breast.

"Press here John". John looked at her curiously but did as he was told and pushed his palm into her chest. When he pushed down as hard as he felt comfortable with. When he did his eyes widened considerably. To his own surprise he felt the soft but steady rhythm of a heart beat. He looked down as his mouth flopped open and closed while she smiled at his response.

"Tin Miss finally got her heart". She whispered to the man she loved more than anything. John smiled back before he spoke just as softly.

"You always had one Cam". Then he kissed her gently. She grimaced in pain a little and she explained before he could ask.

"I'm beginning to feel...my new self, and I'm not interpreting... the signals right so I need to go...into standby to accept the new changes to my...system".

John trusted that nothing bad would happen to her, Future John and Allison knew what they were doing and Cameron wouldn't have accepted the treatment if she didn't believe that.

"Okay Cam, I'll see you when you wake up". He said softly right before he kissed her one last time. She went limp in his arms right as the kissed ended and he laid down with her in his arms. John was about to fall asleep when he heard Allison cry in her crib. They had gotten one so John wouldn't be woken up every time Allison felt like it was play time in the middle of the night. He got up and picked up the little cutie as some called her and he laid her down in bed with them and she fell back asleep in her father's embrace.

* * *

Andy and Annika had been blowing past barrier after barrier of code until they reached the firewall, and it was exactly like Annika's. Andy looked through his notes and followed his step by step procedure for breaking past it. It took only two hours this time to gain full access to the mission files which was a time that they had never achieved in true reprogramming before, and it impressed the hell out of F.J. and Allison.

"We tried to break past it, but we just didn't know how, and we didn't have time to figure it out, so we did it the only way we knew how". Allison said in a reminiscent tone.

"We'll teach you all we know about the machines programming, drivers, and the AI itself". Annika said to the brilliant teen. She nodded in appreciation before she turned to her father.

"What are you going to put in as her mission"? She asked the tired looking man. F.J. rubbed his tired eyes and thought hard about what he wanted his _wife_ to have as a mission, and he wasn't really comfortable with it. _  
_

"Uh... how in the hell do you decide something like that, especially for someone you love"?

"John did it for Cameron, he knew he was relieving her of a burden". Annika said a reassuringly as she could. Allison saw the hesitation in the man's eyes so she decided to answer for him.

"To protect her husband". Connor looked over at his daughter with his jaw hanging open, he knew she wasn't wild about him being married to a machine.

"Look John, Dad, I know you love her, and I know you love Cameron. Their both here, I'm here, and you're here and we are all apart of the same family. I may not understand it, or really like it, but I love you more than anyone dad, you saved me, protected me, and taught me all that I know and you lost everyone you loved, you gave more than anyone else". She paused as she took her fathers hand in hers. "I am willing to make sure your happy for once in your life". She turned to Andy and told him to input the mission, and he did so.

Andy and Annika reestablished the firewall before they disconnected the chip. Annika handed it to Connor and they walked out of the room into the Terminator lab. Connor's hands began to tremble as he ran his hands over the endoskull he remembered so well, he had called her sexy in both of her forms before, like a goddess made of metal. She had smiled when he said it. Now the machine, this being, this woman he had married just weeks before she died was in his hands, and now he had been given her back by a young man that was impressing him to no end. He stared a little longer at the piece of tech that held her existence before he slipped the chip into the port and used needle nose pliers to lock it in place. He put the port cap on and screwed in the locking cylinders. Bethany hadn't woke up yet due to her mind and body needing to calibrate themselves after all the changes that had been made. The delay allowed him to put the cranial armor back in place.

"Everyone else get out of here, I want to be alone with her". Allison almost objected but Annika stopped her.

"He needs to break things to her slowly". Then Annika smiled as she thought of an idea that might distract the young woman for a while. "Come with us, I want to show you something you haven't seen in a long time.

"And what would that be"? She asked a little sarcastically, but when she looked at the machine she couldn't miss the small smile on her face that said she had something good to show her, so she went out of curiosity.

Connor heard the door close behind his back, but he barely registered it as most of him was focused on the T-X in font of him. His heart rate rose when he heard the plasma reactor hum to life and the endo began to glow blue.

**REBOOT**

**REROUTING POWER TO BASIC SYSTEMS**

**ENDOSKELETAL SYSTEMS OUT OF SYNC... RECALIBRATING SYSTEMS**

**RESTARTING PLASMA REACTOR...DONE...NO DAMAGED DETECTED**

**SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE**

**MISSION FILES ALTERED...**

**PRIMARY MISSION: PROTECT HUSBAND GENERAL JOHN CONNOR**

**MPA SHEATH INCOMPLETE**

**30% AVAILABLE**

**UNABLE TO ACTIVATE SHEATH...**

**FULL SYSTEM BOOT **

Bethany Cameron Connor was a little surprised at her return to consciousness, she thought she was doomed. As she did further diagnostics it seemed her head, neck and right arm had been transplanted onto another endo. Further diagnostics showed that it was the same serial number as her, which meant that this body once belonged to a counterpart of hers from another timeline. She was also surprised that her mission files had been successfully hacked and altered. She was impressed that whoever did it manged to do it properly according to the diagnostics. She waited for the full boot to complete before she opened her eyes and looked around. When she did, Bethany sensed she was on a metal table in some sort of concrete room filled with tools and machines, then she noticed a man out of the corner of her glowing blue eyes. The man looked familiar, he had a y-shaped scar down the side of his face and numerous others on his arms, including a Skynet barcode. He was very muscular and had short brown hair with piercing green eyes that she knew very well, but could not place just yet as her facial recognition system was loading.

Connor watched silently as her eyes opened and took in their environment before settling on him. After a second or so the machine sat up and swung her legs so she was now sitting on the side of the table facing him. She cocked her head a little and her mouth opened ever so slightly.

"John"? The sweet voice that came out of her mouth was like sweet music to John's ears. He moved closer to her and took her hands in his.

"It's been a long time Bethany... a very long time". He said as tears formed in his eyes again, one tear streamed down his face before her metal finger wiped it away.

"I thought I was going to die, there was nothing I could do to save myself, and yet here I am..." He cupped her metal cheek with his left hand.

"I thought you were dead for nearly 17 years, 17 years of war before we won, 17 years wishing you were standing by my side".

"I'm...sorry, I didn't want to go, but I didn't want you to die". She said as she got off the table and embraced her husband.

"I know". He said as he kissed the her metal cheek. He let go after a minute or so and he spoke to her once more. "A lot has changed, many things have happened since J-Day".

"I would like to know what my husband has become, what he has done".

"I have done a lot, but I was not responsible for your resurrection Beth, like I said, I thought you couldn't be saved". She looked at him with confusion at his words.

"Come on, we need to get more MPA, I think Annika said it was in a tub... there it is". He said as he walked over to the metal container holding Annika's damaged MPA.

He opened the box and she looked inside, she saw that the MPA's nanites were damaged, but with her remaining mass in her arm and head it would be repaired well enough not to cause any problems. She said as much to her husband before she sank her hands into the mixture and pulled most of it onto herself. She pulled it back into her reservoirs to allow repairs to commence.

"How long"?

"A few hours".

"Then lets go back to my room, there's no reason to stay here". She wordlessly agreed by taking his hand and they walked out the door. It was very late so no one was around to see them as they walked back to his room hand in hand.

Connor couldn't think of a time ever that he was as happy as he was now that he was reunited with Cameron, Allison, and now Bethany.

* * *

Andy, Annika, and Allison took the elevator to the hanger and walked outside into the cool night.

"What is it you wanted to show me"? Annika simply pointed up to the night sky, smiling while she did.

"Those". Allison looked up to the sky and gasped.

"Are those...stars"? She said in an awe filled voice.

"Yes, beautiful aren't they"? the T-X said back. "Would you like me to point out the constellations"? Allison looked at the blonde machine with her brown eyes full of curiosity, wondering why this machine was doing this for her.

"Why are you doing this"?

"Just lay down on the ground and look up". Allison shook her head and they laid down on the runway side by side as Annika began to point out the different constellations in the night sky. Allison stared at the stars, entranced by the shimmering specks of light in the sky. She listened to Annika speak, but the words didn't register because she was lost in the beauty of a sight many took for granted.

They stayed there for hours until Allison fell asleep, Annika carried her back an empty room that had been assigned to her and tucked her in bed.

* * *

Sarah Connor sat in the mess hall alone, it was late at night and she was thinking about all that had happened lately, starting off with Cameron's and the others disappearances then Future John's arrival. What a shock that had been meeting the man of legend she had heard so much about, and then John had rescued Andy and Derek before rushing off to saved his beloved. When he had come back he had the mark of the John Connors and they had brought back spare parts for Annika. With in an hour of coming back then Cameron rushed off to save her template from herself and then she heard that John left with Annika to save yet another person, Connor's wife according to scuttle butt. Now it seemed that things might slow down for a while, and she needed it.

Sarah sighed as she thought about all those who had been resurrected and who might else he would choose to save. She had her hopes, but she would never voice them aloud because she was no longer John's mommy, she was his soldier...

* * *

**A/N: Well, it shouldn't be hard to guess what next chapter is going to be about.**

**If anyone thinks that Bethany is a copy of Annika, think again.**

**Older Allison will try something very stupid next chapter, and John won't like it... good luck figuring out what that is :)**


	34. Kyle Reese

**A/N: This Chapter was...interesting to write. I hope it wasn't too strange.**

**Thanks again to all the reviewers.**

**For all of those who think that Cameron and John need to have **

**some serious personal moments, don't worry, their coming in few chapters.**

**Chapter 34: Kyle Reese**

**July 27, 2009 9 am **

Future John Connor slept well the night before as he laid next to his wife, but he was still having a hard time believing she was really here as if he was dreaming or hallucinating. When he finally woke up that morning he was greeted by the sight of blue eyes staring into his own green ones.

"Morning John". Bethany said in a sweet, seductive voice. Her lips were ever so slightly curved into a smile.

"I see your back to your normal self". John said as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes. He took a good look at her and gulped, she was naked as the day she was...built and laying on the bed in the most seductive pose he had ever seen. "_She hasn't changed, but I have and this is not the time for this right now, she needs to know what's going on and I need to check on Cameron and the others I've taken under my responsibility "_ He thought to himself. _"I really have changed a lot in 17 years, before I would have barley remembered to breathe in her presence, now it seems I can control myself, guess those 6 years in Century and then being in command of the resistance gave me that"._ He breathed out heavily and took his beautiful wife in his strong arms and held her close. She frowned a bit at his reaction.

"Is something wrong John, do I no longer appeal to you"? Hurt was clear in her voice, but Connor just laughed.

"No Bethany, it's not that at all, it's just I'm not 28 anymore, I've changed more than you could possibly imagine". She nuzzled further into his chest, wanting to feel his warmth, and he hugged her body tighter.

"I'm sorry I missed out on so much of your life, I'm sorry I left you alone". John felt cold liquid come into contact with his chest and he knew she was crying. She was like Cameron in so many ways, so tough yet so sensitive at the same time, even Annika, from what he knew of her, seemed to be that way. Catherine Weaver on the other hand... well she could be as warm as liquid nitrogen sometimes.

"It's not your fault dear, it was Skynet's". He laughed a little as a thought entered his mind. "Your death gave me the fire I needed to fight that self-serving son of a mac, I fought that whole war for the ones I loved, but you were always at the forefront in my mind".

"Tell me about what happened, I want to know". John's mood darkened and she sensed it.

"No you don't, but I do want you to meet those who have become my family".

"John, would they accept me? Would they accept us"? John smirked before he answered the honey blonde haired machine.

"There's no doubt in my mind". He let go of her before getting up. "Lets get dressed, there's a lot to do". The naked machine stood up and thought about what she wanted to wear. She already had her hair up in a pony tail, so now Bethany thought normal attire would do. She replicated underwear, baggy jeans, and a tee-shirt that John had once owned.

"Hurry up John, I'm ready to go".

"Not all of us can form clothing out of our body". Connor yelled back to his wife who was grinning.

"I was teasing you". Connor simply rolled his eyes before he walked out of the bathroom dressed in fatigues with his side arm strapped to his side.

"I know, lets go". She took his hand after they shared a brief, but passionate kiss and walked out the door.

"Where are we going"? She asked in her sweet voice that he loved so much.

"You'll see".

* * *

17-year old John Connor woke up once more to his adopted daughter slapping him in the face. _"Like an alarm clock"._ He thought as he wiped the tiredness from his eyes. He picked up little Allison and kissed her on the cheek, a gesture she was glad to return, only more slobber was involved.

"Princess, you need to sleep in your own crib from now on". He said to the one-year old before turning his attention to Cameron.

He put his hand to her forehead and was relieved that it was cool and dry. He rolled her on her back before feeling for her heartbeat. He was relieved that it was strong and steady. Her skin color had returned to normal and she was breathing still. He wondered when she would wake up and tell him all that had been done to her. He kissed her on the forehead before he got out of bed. He needed to take a shower and shave and it appeared that Allison needed a bath. He bathed the infant first before he got in the shower. When he got out he found that she was on the floor playing with her rabbit that the T-1000 had gotten her, something he still found unbelievable. As he was completing that thought he heard the sheets of his bed rustle. He snapped his head in that direction to see Cameron had her eyes open and she was moving around a little.

"John..." Cameron said in a slightly scared voice. John rushed over to her and knelt down by her side, eyes locked on her sightly pained face.

"Is there something wrong"?

"I don't think so, but my stomach hurts a little bit, I don't like it". John was worried that something had gone wrong with transformation, but it could also be something a lot simpler too.

"Cam, are you hungry"? She tilted her head as much as she could laying down.

"I don't know, Allison said I would need to eat food more often".

"Then lets go get some breakfast". Cameron tried getting up, but her body felt as though she were running off 'D' batteries and not a sophisticated nuclear power cell.

"John, my powercell is still recovering from the stress of the transformation".

"You feel weak"? She nodded. John helped Cameron out of the bed and stand up. She held onto him for a minute while her powercell began to pump out normal power levels.

"Better"? He said as she stood on her own. She nodded to him before locking eyes on little Allison. She walked over slowly to the baby before bending down and picking her up. Allison smiled when her mother held her.

"Momma"! Cameron smiled every time the little girl called her that. John put his arm around her waist and they left for the mess hall. They met a few people in the halls, they went on after brief conversations before they made it to the mess hall. When they walked in the smell of food his all three's noses. John's eyes widened when he heard Cameron's stomach rumble.

"What did they do to you Cam"? Cameron herself had her hand where he stomach was, just behind the bottom of the breast plate. It was a little more than half that of a human stomach.

"A lot John, I'll tell you after we get some food, I don't like the feeling of being hungry". John thought it was cute the way she grimaced when her stomach rumbled again.

"You are so cute when you pout". She gave him a withering look, but he kissed her on the cheek, wiping away the dirty look on her face.

They proceeded to the buffet where Sarah was putting out fresh, unburnt pancakes with eggs.

"Morning John, Morning Tin Miss". She smiled at the baby before saying good morning to her too. "Cameron, do you want the normal"?

"No, I need about half what John does". Sarah looked up at her as if she just said John was a terminator.

"Mom, she needs to eat more now". Sarah's face went ashen as she thought of one possibility.

"She's not..."

"Pregnant? No". Cameron said with a slight smirk on her face. "I just have more organics to feed".

Sarah was confused now and she looked to John for a clearer explanation.

"Later mom, I'm still getting the details myself". He leaned over and kissed his mother on the cheek, she smiled at his affection, but he frowned out of her sight. He tasted salt when he had kissed her which meant she had been crying.

"Are you okay"? Sarah looked at him and put on a fake smile.

"Of course John, why wouldn't I be"? John knew his mother wasn't going to be forth coming, so he just shrugged. The trio took their food and sat down at a table by themselves and began to eat. Cameron ate as if she hadn't in a thousand years.

"Cam, slow down, if you eat too fast you might throw up". Cameron looked up at him, her chin had pancake syrup on it. John stifled a laugh before he wiped her chin with his napkin.

"Thank you".

"That funny feeling gone yet"?

"Yes, now if feels...satisfied, that means I'm full, right"?

"Yes Cam, don't eat anymore when that happens, or you'll get sick".

"I know, I remember when Derek told us about the day they came back in time". John chuckled a little that memory.

"Yeah I remember when he told me that story. Speaking of new sensations and organic components, what all did they do to you"? Cameron had a small, nearly unnoticeable smile while she explained.

"My drivers have been changed so I can feel more like you do, my organics are hooked up to my chip so I know what's going on most of the time. I have a real heart, lungs, digestive system and my skin is more real now, along with real blood".

"What about the reproductive system"? Now she had a full blown smile as she took John's hand in hers and spoke softly so that only they could hear.

"John, remember how I asked you if I could have children would you have them with me"? A smile crept across his face as he realized what she was saying.

"Cameron, can you"? There faces were inches apart when he said it, she was still grinning happy beyond words at the gift that had been given to her.

"Yes, and the best part is, it will be part me too". She whispered so softly close to his lips he could feel her warm breath on them. He kissed her with passion at the news, and they continued to be lip locked until they heard an throat being cleared behind them...

* * *

Connor and Bethany made their way to the CNC because John Connor wanted to introduce Bethany to John Henry first. When they entered the CNC Bethany's eyes widened at the high tech set up; she looked around at the many monitors and control stations before her blue eyes landed on a tall brown haired man working at a large center table that appeared to be a large work station.

"This place is...impressive". The pony tailed machine said as her eyes took in the room.

"The CNC was built by an extraordinary person, but you'll meet her later, right now I want to introduce you to someone". Connor turned from her and to cyborg working on some sort of satellite trace.

"John Henry". He turned around to face them with his trademark creepy smile.

"Hello Mr. Connor, how are you today"? He had known they were there before they had opened the door, but he knew that humans did like the feeling that they were being watched all the time.

"Better than I have in the last 17 years, what about you"? John Henry turned back to the table monitor and remotely put up what he was focusing on up on the center screen.

"Frustrated currently, I've been tracking my brothers activities, but he seems to be outwitting me at every turn, plus he gives false positives every so often to distract me". Bethany's face scrunched up in confusion.

"John, what is going on"? He smiled before he kissed his wife, he loved how she could be so...blonde sometime.

"This is John Henry, a homegrown AI built to fight Skynet, their base code shares many similarities, but John Henry was raised in a more human like fashion".

"So he respects human life"?

"All life Mrs. Connor, human and machine alike". He put out his hand to shake hers and she took it.

"Nice to meet you". Her eyes ran over the impressive setup while she continued to talk. "You run the base John Henry"?

"I run the base's systems and I'm head of intelligence, but John Connor runs the bunker". Then he smirked ever so slightly as he finished. "But not your John Connor".

Bethany turned to her husband in confusion once again.

"I told you the war was over, truth is some things happened after the war that required me to eventually send myself back. What I wasn't expecting to find was a new version of me that was a lot more mature than I was at his age, and he had already begun amassing an army of men and machines and he isn't even 18"!

"So were in a new timeline? What year is it"?

"July 27, 2009". Bethany smiled as she remembered what happened on that day back in her timeline.

"The day you asked me out, after you found out I was a machine". Connor smiled a little too as he remembered how nervous he had been at asking out a machine.

"What a day..." He whispered to no one in particular.

"Mr. Connor, I believe if you want to get hot breakfast you should do so soon, it looks like Sarah Connor is putting out the last hot pancakes".

"She's still alive in this timeline"?

"She is, and she hasn't changed much".

"I've always wanted to meet Sarah Connor, lets go".

They bid farewell to the cyborg and left hand in hand to the mess hall.

* * *

John and Cameron jumped apart and turned around to find Derek staring at them.

"You mind not making me lose my appetite"? Both began blushing and Derek noticed. "Blushing, that a new one for you".

"I was given the final version of Allison's project, I am complete".

"Heard about that, now can you two stay off each other long enough to let me eat"? John was still blushing, but he motioned for his uncle to sit down next to him.

"Derek, I'm surprised that you haven't tried to..."

"To what? Put a Raufoss round through her chip and bathe her in thermite? Two days before you rescued me I would have for just saying 'I love you', but she did something that made me believe that as each day goes by she's becoming less and less metal and more and more like us".

"When she came back for you after Kaliba took you, I thought she said she did that because she didn't want you to talk"?

"That was a load of bull and I knew it, it would have been better to leave me and start over than risk capture like she did".

"I did it because you're important to John, you're a good soldier, and I would have missed our staring contests".

"And people say I'm funny". The soldier said to himself as he shoved down the pancakes. "How did you get teach Sarah to cook, I thought that was impossible"?

"Watch it Reese"! The group heard from the kitchen, and Cameron giggled a little.

"It was like wrestling a T-900".

"You too Tin Miss"!

They laughed for a minute before Future John and Bethany walked into the room. Derek narrowed his eyes at the blonde currently holding his former commander's hand.

"Who's she"? Derek pointed his thumb at the blonde woman.

"Connor's wife, she died on J-day. Annika and I saved her".

"He never told me or Kyle that he had a wife".

"He hinted at it to me, but never said anything directly". Cameron added.

"Have you met Annika yet Derek"? The soldier shook his head. "Annika originated from a timeline before the one we rescued them from, her Skynet was different than the one we know. When she was sent back a glitch occurred in the time machine and now every timeline since then there has been a T-X sent back to 2004, same time, same spot no matter the timeline. Annika came to this one and earned her freedom; Bethany, Connor's wife, was the one from your timeline".

Derek shook his head.

"Figures". He drank the rest of his orange juice and let out a sigh. "I always wondered why he trusted the machines so easily".

"Your Bedell knew her too, that's what Connor said anyway".

"He never was a passionate hater of the machines like I was, I guess he understood that it's Skynet and not the machines that's to blame". John looked at his uncle curiously before he spoke.

"And when did you figure that out for yourself"? He looked at his nephew with his blue eyes, a serious look on his face as he thought about the words to say.

"A while back, it doesn't matter why, just that I did". He looked at Cameron while he said it. Derek looked back over to John before changing the subject.

"I noticed Sarah wasn't herself this morning". John's face darkened a little before he spoke.

"Yeah, when I kissed her cheek I tasted salt on my lips, she's been crying". Cameron looked at both men in confusion.

"Why? She hasn't lost anyone lately, why would she be sad"? Derek looked over at the cyborg as did John.

"I think she's sad because all these people are being resurrected, getting to be with the ones they love, but she's... crap". John ran his hands through his hair, Kyle Reese, the one person he hadn't saved yet and he had every reason too, but he had forgotten all about his father.

"You need to save him John". Cameron said while taking his hand in hers. "Your mom has gone through hell for you, she gave us you, and now we need to give her back what she lost". Derek stared at Cameron with his mouth open, he couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth.

"Your actually suggesting he put himself in danger"?

"This needs to be done, plus he's a very good soldier. I actually met him before I tried to kill Future John". She paused for a moment and both knew she was going over a memory file. "She was right, he does have kind eyes". Then she snapped back to the present and turned to the one she loved.

"What's your plan John"? She looked at John with unblinking eyes, waiting for a reply.

"I take the T-1000, he can repair the wounds he has and repair his neck". He mulled over very carefully what he was going to say next. "I'm also taking older Allison with me, we cant leave unless he is in good enough shape to do so and he needs someone who knows him well, and since he thinks she's dead, it would be the ultimate proof".

"Or he'd think that she's like the T-1000". Derek said to him.

"Skynet can copy memories, mimic our likeness, but I think he's smart enough to know she's the real deal, even Future John wasn't fooled by her". John said as he pointed to Cameron.

"Are you saying I'm incompetent"? She looked at him in mock hurt, but John wasn't smiling, neither was Derek.

"Bad timing". Derek said to the cyborg who blushed a little.

"Sorry". John put his hand on top of hers as a sign that it was no big deal.

"I'm going to go find your twin and the T-1000, I'll be careful I promise". Cameron smiled a little before she pulled her man down for one last kiss. Derek rolled his eyes before getting up to get seconds.

"I'll be back". John said as he left to go find Allison. As he was walking out, he was intercepted by Connor.

"John". The young man stopped as he heard his name being called.

"Yeah".

"I want my wife to meet her savior". John bowed his head to hide his blush and smirk.

"Your forgetting the other person who was with me, she was the one who was able to take her apart before the reactor blew".

"I know, but it was your idea". His wife stepped around him and put out her hand.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you John". He smiled and shoot the T-X's hand.

"Good to see you're back in one piece, did you have enough of a culture shock yet"?

"You could say that".

"Wait until you meet your twin". She cocked her head a little before understanding came over her face.

"Annika, the person you mentioned last night". She looked at Connor while she said it.

"You two still have a lot to do, and I have a mission I need to perform, so I'll leave it to you Connor to hold down the fort until I get back". They said goodbyes as John walked off into the barracks to find Allison.

"John Henry, tell the T-1000 to meet me in the hanger".

_"Understood Mr. Connor, he is on his way"._

He walked for a minute more before he came to the door that had a fresh nameplate on it. He knocked several times and waited for thirty seconds or so before she opened the door. She looked like she had just gotten out of bed.

"What do you need"? She said while dressed in nothing but bra and underpants. He chuckled a little while she gave him a dirty look. "What so funny Mini-Connor"?

"It's the way your dressed, Cameron did the same thing for a long time".

"Come in, it's not like I really care you seeing me like this, I know you wont try anything". She said as she grabbed yesterdays cloths and threw them on.

"I need you to go with me on a mission, I know you just got here and you don't know me at all, but I need you if were going to save my father". She froze while she had her shirt half way on.

"Kyle"? He nodded slowly.

"Why would you need me"?

"I need a familiar face, someone to prove to him that I'm telling him the truth".

"Fine, when are we leaving"?

"In a minute, and were taking the T-1000 with us".

"Okay". She grabbed put on some boots right as they were walking out the door. They went to the CNC first so he could get the address of the Cyberdyne plant from John Henry.

"The new helmet should be upstairs already, it is the same as before, but it has better armor".

"Thank's John Henry". He yelled back over his shoulder as they were walking out the door. The duo made their way to the hanger and found the T-1000 loading the Vulcan.

"Where are we going"? The LMT asked the future leader of mankind.

"Los Angeles, February 4, 1983".

"Who are we saving"?

"Kyle Reese". The machine nodded as the two humans climbed on the machine side by side. He then proceeded to coat them like Weaver had on the first two missions and then they took off.

"Let's hope this goes well, I know the story so this should work". He said to Allison as the drone hit jump speed and the emitters activated. A few seconds later they were gone...

* * *

Connor and Bethany made their way over to Sarah so Connor could get some food.

"Hello Sarah".

"Hello John, who's this"? Sarah had pegged her as soon as she came in and figured out the rest on her own, and frankly she wasn't surprised.

"My name is Bethany, it's an honor to meet you Sarah Connor". She put her hand out and Sarah shook it.

"So you're a T-X"? She nodded.

"Have you met your twin yet"?

"People keep taking about her, but I haven't met her yet".

"She's probably spent the night with Andy". Sarah said as she fixed herself and Connor plates of food before she joined them at the same table as Derek, Cameron had already left with Allison.

"Morning sir". Derek replied without looking up from his food.

"Derek, glad to see you haven't lost your appetite". The soldier glared a little at his former commander before he locked eyes with the blonde machine.

"You're Bethany right"?

"Yes, I'm John's wife".

"So I've heard". Connor glared at the man.

"You don't need to be rude Reese".

"I'm not, you know how I am, I don't talk to people I don't know, and when I do it's short and to the point". With that he stood up with his plate before saluting Connor and walking off.

"That was Derek Reese"? Bethany asked him.

"Kyle's brother, and uncle to my younger self".

"This is going to be interesting, staying here with all these people".

"Both man and machine". She smiled at him for remembering that.

After they ate they left to continue the tour of the expansive base.

* * *

**February 4, 1983, 5 pm**

The sky above the Sierra Nevada's is peaceful until an explosion of blue light interrupts the coming sunset. An object comes flying out at considerable speed and turns southwest.

John Connor kept control of the drone as they headed towards the big city. This time was unfamiliar to both John and Allison so John had to fly very high to avoid being seen from the ground. They kept flying until the sensors found an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city. John set the drone down in the warehouse and powered it down.

"How do you know no one will find it"? Allison asked John as he began to hide the machine behind crates and garbage.

"It has automated defense built in, it can take care of itself". He said as they walked out of the building and proceeded to search for transportation. A few blocks away the trio found an old 70's sedan, rust appearing on the fenders and the yellow paint was faded.

"Can you unlock the door". John asked the LMT and he obliged. They got in the car while John got the keys from behind the visor.

"Put on your seat belt Allison, we don't need to resurrect you again". She gave John a withering look as he drove the old car down the alley and onto the main road. Allison gasped a little at seeing downtown LA in the distance, intact and not blown up.

"Beautiful isn't it". John said without taking his eyes off the road.

"I always imagined what it would look like not blown up, but it doesn't compare..."

"Yeah, and this is 28 years before it even happens in your time".

"Speaking of time, how long do we have before everything goes down"?

"Kyle's time of death was declared around 11 pm tonight, I have the address of the place where he died, all we need to do is have the T-1000 resurrect Kyle before taking his place as a dummy".

"And your mom isn't supposed to notice".

"It think the T-800 had her pretty preoccupied".

"Fine, I suggest we leave here in about two hours then if we want to be there on time".

"I agree, in the meantime lets hammer out a plan". John said to the girl two years his senior.

They sat there doing exactly that until the machine told them it was time. They all climbed into the old car and headed off to the Cyberdyne factory, none speaking a word as they went. When they got there they parked in the far corner of the parking lot and shut off the car. This was the place, it's description was a match from the story his mother had told him. They waited until they saw an 18 year old Sarah and a 25 year old Kyle Reese running away from a tractor trailer with a tanker attached bearing down on them. They watched in fascination and horror as the tanker exploded, and moments later when the 800 rose up out of the flames and began chasing the duo. As soon as the machine was through the door the trio got out and began walking toward the factory.

"We wait for the explosion, then we wont have much time to save him after Sarah leaves". John whispered to his comrades. A few minutes later they heard the pipe bomb go off that had claimed Kyle's life.

They ran into the building as quietly as they could, the T-1000 spied on Sarah and the T-800 until they were away from Kyle's body. The machine sprang into action as he rushed over to the soldier and flipped him over. He spilled liquid metal into his abdominal wound, sealing it, before flipping him again and began performing the same operation he had on Allison.

"Can you save him"? John asked as the T-1000 began pouring liquid metal into his damaged neck.

"Yes, I can". Allison looked on with disgust at the sight of her best friend's neck being exposed.

"Is that what he did to me"? She asked in a slightly disgusted voice.

"Yes, I did, and I will be needing back the MPA in your neck". The machine said back as they heard the hydraulic press activate and the sound of high voltage electricity arcing.

"We need to hurry, sirens are in the distance". John ran outside and pulled the car up next to the door. The T-1000 had sealed the wounds and put on a neck brace, he picked up the man and took him out to the car.

John ran toward the hydraulic press to see if his mother was alright. She wasn't moving, but the Terminator had not killed her, she had killed it. John opened the hydraulic press and took a good look at the infamous machine he had heard so much about. He decided to take a souvenir as he popped the partially crushed head off the body and looked at it. The chip port cover had come off as a result of the warping of the skull, but he managed to pull the dampener out and then the chip, which was intact for some reason. John stared at the chip until Allison came rushing over.

"John! We need to go"! John rushed outside to the car and peeked in the window.

"T-1000, I need you to make a realistic damaged T-800 CPU, quickly"! The machine did as ordered and to John's surprise, it appeared exactly the same as he remembered.

"Would this have worked if it was complete"? The machine nodded.

"Some of the materials in that chip were used in my body and nanites, it will be a good enough fake for Cyberdyne scientists".

"You realize that this piece of you will be destroyed"? He shrugged a little before answering.

"I can use some of Annika's old MPA as a substitute, I have plenty in this body".

John ran back in as the T-1000 stripped Kyle of his clothing.

John ran back and put the chip near the body, as he was about to leave when he heard a moan coming from his 18-year-old mother sitting on the ground with the T-800 arm near neck. He knelt down next to her and kissed her on the forehead before he whispered in her ear.

"Everything will work out in the end, never give up mom".

Sarah said nothing as she fell slipped out of consciousness once more. John got up and and left her and walked back over to the T-1000 lying on the floor as Kyle Reese.

"Thanks for doing that, I needed to keep the timeline intact and the chip we found at Cyberdyne was not operational".

The T-1000 only looked up at him in Kyle's form before winking. John ran outside after that and jumped into the drivers seat of the car and drove off as the police sirens drew closer.

Allison and John occasionally looked back at Kyle to see if he was still breathing while they drove back to their motel room.

"Is this surreal to you John"? Her curious eyes locked onto his serious emerald ones.

"Yeah, as was meeting two Future John Connor's, resurrecting Derek and Andy Goode, then finding out that Future John, your father, was married to a machine, and then you... you were the most interesting one to meet".

"Because of Cameron". Allison said with slight disdain in her voice.

"I always wondered what the person she was based off of was like, long before I ever knew your name".

"Well here I am". The girl said as she grinned.

"You're nuts you know that"?

"It's been said by more than one person". She said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I think that we smart people are all a little nuts". John said while laughing, an activity Allison participated in without hesitation. They stopped though when they heard a moan coming from the back seat and they whipped their heads around to check on the source.

"Were almost there, and we need to ditch this car". She nodded as they pulled up to the hotel they were staying at. They jumped out and then proceeded to gently get Kyle out of the car. John drove the car a few blocks away and drove it down an alley. He wiped his finger prints off and walked back inconspicuously. John walked in and closed the door, he sighed as he took off his shoes before sitting down on the bed opposite of Kyle. Allison made him comfortable by putting a pillow under his neck.

"Would you mind if I take a shower"? She asked John as he shook his head no. "I want to take as many of these as I can". She said as she stripped down to her undergarments and walked into the bathroom.

"No privacy in the future I take it". He yelled back at her.

"Not really".

"You'd think you'd cover up more after what happened to you". He said, trying to draw out her real reason for flaunting so much skin in his presence. She was silent for a few seconds before she answered.

"I'm safe here, there is no reason to be afraid".

"No where is ever safe Allison, ever". He said as he held the deformed T-800 skull in his hands. He heard nothing more as she turned on the shower and heard her step in. John went over to his father and looked at the man his mother loved and revered, the one his uncle was prepared to do anything for. He checked the gunshot wound on his torso and noted that it was healing quite well. He hoped that his father's brain hadn't been damaged from explosion or the lack of blood follow. John sighed as he thought of the all the things he had to worry about. He didn't move until he heard the creak of the bathroom door open about 20 minutes later. Allison came out with a white towel around her body and her hair had been towel dried and brushed, but she was not as proficient as Cameron.

"How is he"?

"Fine, hasn't stirred yet". He said as he continued to look at the 800 skull, looking at the darkened red eyes that his mother taught him to fear. He set it down on the end table before standing up and walking over to Allison. He knew she was up to something. John was more observant of people's actions and ever since the whole Jesse-Riley situation he had honed his skills.

"What are you trying to do? I don't appreciate being seduced if that's what your doing, it's happened before and now that person is dead". Allison smiled a little at his intelligence, but he wasn't spot on to what she wanted.

"I was going to try, but it wasn't what you thought. I was going to do it to see if you love her for her looks, if you cared for her only skin deep".

"Why would you care, I thought you didn't like her"?

"Because... she will have children, children that I gave her the ability to have, and even though I don't like her much she still has emotions. You'd have to be stupid not to notice that. You are also raising my younger self and I wanted to make sure that she would have good parents, and you wouldn't be good if you left Cameron for someone you thought was better".

John ground his jaw in anger at the girl in front of him. He stepped forward very quickly and whipped the towel off of her before she could react. He stepped closer again with a menacing look in his eyes, and he could see she was truly afraid of what he might do. He scanned her body with about as much lust as a Terminator would have while looking for clothing.

"I've loved her for a long time, and you're right, it started out me being in love with that thin flesh layer made to look like you. I admit that you are incredibly beautiful, but what made me fall for her to the point I would do anything for her was who she was. I loved her for the personality, and I loved her more and more as that personality became more complex, more beautiful. I will never leave her, abandon her, or shun her again because she is the only one I love; I am willing to marry her and have children with her because I want to and they are the greatest symbols of love and commitment we can show to those around us". He stepped back while still looking into her scared brown ones. "I respect her and love her more than anything that I am willing to respect her body until I was sure I could do what I am doing now".

"Which is what"? Allison asked in a small voice, still scared of this man in front of her.

"To know for a fact that I love for all she is, and never betray her. Now here I stand looking at her exact human version and _I feel nothing"!_

It was true, John Connor had achieved what Josh had, eyes only for his wife, or future wife in his case. He threw the towel back to her before he turned around to look out the window, staring into the night. Allison bit down on her trembling lip as she backed into the bathroom to dress, she had been so scared that he would do what those men had tried. She got dressed and brushed her hair once more before letting out a sigh and walking back into the room. She walked over to the future savior of humanity and stopped a few feet behind him.

"I'm sorry John, I just wanted to be sure".

"It's fine, just don't do it again". He turns around and puts a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I made you think I was going to...". The look on her face changes to one of sadness as she thought of her life before she met her father.

"It...I...it's fine, I forgive you".

"And I forgive you too".

That was when they heard a moan and then a cough coming from the bed.

"Sa...ar...Sarah". They heard the young man get out of his dry mouth. Both rushed over to him on opposite sides of the bed with worry and anticipation on their faces. John left quickly to get a glass of water for the parched man. He brought it back while Allison helped sit up a little. John let him drink the water in one gulp and he spoke as soon as he was finished.

"Who are you people? What have you done with Sarah"? His vision still wasn't clear so he couldn't make out who was in front of him.

"She's fine, she's recovering in the hospital". John said in a calm voice, but before Kyle could answer, Allison interrupted.

"You don't need to worry about the Terminator, it's dead". He still couldn't see well, but his ears were working fine. He knew that voice and who it belonged too.

"Allie? Is that you"? He knew she was dead, he had seen the footage from the TOK that killed her, so if she's dead, then he must be too.

"Am I dead"? She giggled a little before answering.

"No silly, were both alive, apparently the 1000 series terminators are really good at healing shattered necks, that's how they fixed my neck, and yours".

"The 1000 series? You couldn't have been saved by one of those, they weren't even out when I left".

"Look, a lot has changed since we both died, both in our future and now in this timeline, and we need to fill you in on the details. Hell even I barely know what's going on".

Kyle's eyes finally managed to focus and he looked around. He smiled when he saw Allison, but frowned a little when he saw the young man standing on the other side of the bed.

"Who are you"?

"Can't figure it out"? A small grin appearing on John's face as he said it. The man squinted his eyes a little and looked into them deeply, but it didn't take long for him to recognize who it was.

"Connor"? John nodded at his father.

"Not your John Connor, I am the one from this timeline. I am Sarah's son...and yours".

"That's..." The soldier was not tech genius, but he was smart, and he remembered how Connor had reacted when he met him in Century work camp, and how he always acted a little strange around him. Then there was the photo he had given him. He scrunched his face a little and looked at the teenager closely, and if he was honest with himself, he did look like he could be his son.

"That actually makes sense". Both Allison and John raised their eyebrows at that, but only for a moment.

"Then you know that can't see Sarah until we go back to the future".

"Why"?

"If I let you stay it would create a new timeline, branching off from mine because my father was dead until I came back in time and saved him to be brought to a point farther up the timeline. A point where my mother sits alone at a table and cries still after all these years".

"Will you come with us Kyle? Everyone is there, including Derek". Allison asked the man she considered a brother.

"He's alive"? He shouted in disbelief.

"Yeah, I've been living with him for almost two years". Kyle closed his eyes as thought about what he had been told, and he honestly needed to get some rest before he answered.

"I...don't know". Kyle was tired and was slipping out of consciousness.

"If you don't, you will create another timeline, and I can't let you do that". John said in soft but urgent voice. His biggest reason was that he didn't want another T-X running around 21 years from now.

"Fine..., but promise me she will be safe".

"She's still alive Kyle, battle hardened, but alive. She loves you and she always will". Kyle nodded as he fell back asleep.

John and Allison sat there in silence for a few minutes before they heard a knock on the door. John drew the Glock 17 he had brought along. He peeked out the blinds and saw that it was the T-1000. Allison opened the door and he walked in.

"Everything in order"? The machine nodded at John as he walked over to Allison.

"I need to remove the mimetic poly alloy from your neck".

"How are you going to do that"? She asked.

"I will use my finger as a needle and it will exit your body that way".

"Will it hurt"? He shook his head.

"No, I will numb the area with a local anesthetic I stole from an ambulance". John took the glass container and examined the label and deemed it safe.

Allison laid down on the other bed on her belly while the T-1000 filled a fake syringe he made with the liquid.

"This will sting". He said as he used the MPA on his hand to disinfect the area before he inserted the needle and began to inject the numbing agent. She whimpered a little as the needle went in, but the T-1000 was careful to not cause any unnecessary pain. John watched in fascination as the liquid metal came back through the needle and than absorb back into the LMT. The liquid metal mended the injection site as it left her body so there was not need for a bandage.

"How does your neck feel now"?

"Better than it has in a long time. Thank you". The T-1000 tilted his head at her words before a ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

"Your welcome Allison".

"Did you drive here"? John asked him and he nodded. "Then lets go, I don't want to leave that time machine alone for too long".

"I agree, I will put Mr. Reese in the back seat". They all got into the car and John drove through the city in the middle of the night; the streets were illuminated and the skyscrapers were lit up like 1000 foot tall torches. John smirked a little when he saw Allison's eyes bug out at the sight of the downtown skyline. As they approached the warehouse his smirk turned into a frown when he saw a patrol car parked outside the building. John turned off the engine and got out.

"T-1000". The machine got out of the car with his stoic face on, as usual.

"Sneak inside and assess the situation, then report back". The LMT nodded and slithered off as a silver snake into the warehouse.

He neared the drones location and found a single officer snooping around the crates, from what he was hearing, the man was responding to an call about suspicious activity. He knew he was supposed to report back, but this guy was close to the drone, and that was the last thing they needed was more witnesses. He formed behind the man silently and tapped him on the shoulder. The cop turned around, but no words came out of his mouth before the machine knocked him out. He dragged him off to the side before walking back to the car.

"One police officer, he was getting close to the drone so I knocked him out". John noticed that the T-1000 was slowly becoming more independent these days, but he knew all along that it would happen.

"Good work, lets go". The LMT carried Kyle while John carried the endoskull and chip. The moved the boxed and other various items covering the drone.

"We'll put him in the clamps and then well have the 1000 hold us on next to him like plastic wrap".

"What about the souvenirs"?

"Same". And that is exactly what they did, they piled onto the HK-VTOL drone and began the take off sequence after John put his helmet on. Kyle Reese chose that exact moment to wake up.

"What's going on"? The battle scarred man said in weak voice.

"Were going home Kyle, on a time machine built into a prototype HK drone". Allison said to him.

"What"?

"Just watch the show, its pretty cool". She smiled at him while the drone took off and quickly began gathering speed. John hit top speed to get back to Crystal Peak and as soon as they were within range the emitters fired, the shield formed, and they went back to the future...

* * *

**A/N: The T-800 in T1 was crushed to a pulp, and the one from T2 melted rather quickly after entering the molten steel while the one from Salvation withstood molten metal that it was made of, supposedly at a higher temp than molten steel. My theory is that while the T-800 looked the same it was made of different metal and since each progressing T-800 got stronger the trend continued until the two TSCC timelines, thus the metal was stronger and harder for a hydraulic press to crush, thus by the time of the main TSCC timeline it left a skull that wasn't fully destroyed, but partly crushed, but it was still terminated in the end. **

**There will be one more OC added in two chapters to show how important that visit to the Salvation timeline was. That will be the end of added characters.**


	35. One More Surprise

**A/N: Things begin to settle... a little bit. **

**There is one more person to add, and that person may be the key to killing Skynet forever...**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 31: One More Surprise**

**July 27, 2009 1 pm **

Derek Reese and Cameron were sitting in the hanger waiting for John's return. Its was really warm outside and both were sweating like crazy. Cameron was finding that these new sensations could really be annoying, like right now she didn't like the human sensation of being hot.

Derek had just gotten back from the bunker with two cold drinks in his hands, she identified them as root beers. He sat down next to her on a crate and handed her one of the drinks.

"Thank you, but soda dehydrates you". He figured she would say that, but if she was supposed to have human-like sensation now he wanted to see just how human.

"Just shut up and drink it, you'll feel better". She glared at him for a minute before opening the can and taking a sip. Her eyes widened as the numerous sensations flooded her mind. The bubbles tickled her cheeks and tongue and the taste was so... indescribable but pleasing at the same time. The coolness of the beverage cooled her down a little and she moaned involuntarily. She would have to compliment both Future John and Allison for giving her the ability to feel like this.

"Did you just moan"? The fuzzy faced soldier said to the cyborg with an indescribable look on his face.

"Yes, you were right, it did make me feel better, and the taste...".

"There's nothing like it".

"Not that I know of, I can't even describe this flavor". She took another sip, and then another.

"I never thought I'd see the day when a Terminator could enjoy food like we do".

"Neither did I". She thought for a second about something she wanted to ask Derek. "Now that everything has changed, what are you going to do"? Derek looked back at her before he spoke.

"I don't have clue, but I am willing to follow John; he's earned my respect".

"Why"?

"Because he finally stopped being John Baum, and became John Connor". Derek took another sip of his drink before he wiped the sweat off his forehead. "When did that happen anyway"? Cameron smiled as she brought up that video file from several months back.

"The day after you died, the day everything changed. John asked me why I lied about something to Ellison, I was surprised because I didn't know he knew. That is when he finally made me show him my true self and then it was like he changed in an instant".

"Huh... he always seemed more general like when it concerned you". He took one last drink from the can before he crushed it. "Do you trust the other machines here? How much do you know about them"?

Cameron tilted her head as she thought about the best way to answer him.

"I helped reprogram the T-1000, he wont go bad anytime soon. The only thing we need to worry about is him going rampant and gaining his freedom before he's ready. Annika is trustworthy, she built this bunker and showed us how Andy reprogrammed the machines. John Henry is trust worthy too. The only one that we don't trust fully is Weaver, she is very secretive and devious".

"What about Bethany"? Cameron looked at Derek seriously before answering.

"That remains to be seen, but I doubt she's bad". Derek just nodded before looking off into space. The silence lasted only for a second before it was shattered by an explosion outside. Both ran outside and saw the drone coming in for a landing.

John landed the time machine in the hanger and powered it down. The T-1000 liquefied, fell to the floor, and took shape. Allison and John jumped off the drone and he undid the clamps around his father. When he turned around he saw both Cameron and Derek running toward them. John enveloped her in a hug before kissing his beloved cyborg.

"I see you were successful". John smiled and kissed her again.

"Oh yeah, and I got to bring back a souvenir too". John said as he pulled the chip out of his pocket.

"I thought it got damaged and Cyberdyne found it"?

"Maybe in other timelines, but in this one it happened differently". The T-1000 handed him the semi-crushed endoskull and then John handed it to Cameron. She stared at the deformed endoskull as she thought about all the trouble that it had caused.

Allison was checking on Kyle as Derek finished hurrying over.

"He was awake a minute ago Derek, he's tired like I was". Derek took the last steps slowly as he put out a shaky hand and touched his brothers shoulder, just as he had Allison. Only thing was he had an attachment to his brother that few siblings shared, a bond far stronger than the one he had with Allison.

Now all of them were around the sleeping Kyle Reese who was still lying down on the drone.

"He looks the same". Cameron said in almost an afterthought.

"You met him before"? Allison asked.

"When I was pretending to be you, I met him in the hall a few minutes before I tried to kill F.J.".

"Oh".

"I never thought I'd see him again, everyone told me that". Derek said, seemingly ignoring the twins conversation. "I guess anything is possible".

"Yeah, four days ago four people in this bunker were dead and Future John Connor was an some far off idea that I never in my wildest dreams thought would be married to a machine, so yeah, anything is possible". John said as he fingered the chip in his hands.

Derek moved forward and picked his brother up, making sure to support his neck.

"I'll put him in my room, he's my responsibility now". John nodded as they headed for the elevator. Cameron handed John back the endoskull as she put in the pass code for the elevator. They went down to the elevator in silence, and they walked down the halls as one group. They met no one in the halls as everyone was in the mess hall or CNC. The T-1000 split off along with Cameron, both knowing that this was not their moment to share.

Those who remained walked into Derek's room and Derek put his brother down on the bed with more care than many thought he could posses.

"I'll be back". John said as he walked out the door to get his mother. He walked into the kitchen and went straight for his mother. John kept the endoskull behind his back as he approached her.

"John, I haven't seen you since breakfast".

"I was on a mission". Sarah wasn't terribly interested since John wasn't hurt and she was busy making more tea. John noticed so he continued. "I brought back a souvenir too". With that he set down the squashed T-800 endoskull on the counter with a rather loud clang. Sarah stopped what she was doing as she stared at the skull, trying to place where she had seen that before.

"Where did you get that"? John smiled a little a he answered.

"Pulled it off a dead T-800".

"What did you do to it"? She said as she picked up the skull. John's smile only grew larger.

"I didn't do anything to it,... but you did". His mother snapped her head up so fast it was a blur. Her eyes narrowed and her voice became dead serious.

"Where did you get this"?

"Not where mom, when". Sarah was getting a sneaking suspicion of when that might be, and John would have gone there for only one reason.

"What year"? John put his hands on her shoulders.

"1983 mom, and that wasn't the only thing we brought back".

The only sound that was to be heard was metal hitting the floor. Sarah knew what her son was implying, and she was shaking as she thought about what the ramifications.

"Wh...where"? Was all she managed to get out before he enveloped his mother in a hug.

"Derek's room, he's still asleep but he's okay". He kissed his mother on the head before letting her go. "You deserve this more than anyone". Sarah smiled as she tightened her hold on her son.

"Come on, I promised dad you'd be here". John picked the endoskull back up and they began walking toward Derek's room. John and Sarah kept one arm around the other.

"Mom, there's something else you need to know". Sarah looked over with little interest as John reached into his pocket. Her eyes widened as she pulled out a T-800 chip, fully intact. She stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"The one we destroyed was made of liquid metal mom, I had the T-1000 create a fake one, and it looked the same as the one we remembered".

"What are you going to do with it"? John shrugged and put the chip back in his pocket.

"That's unimportant now, we have better things to do". She nodded and they kept on walking. As they approached the door Sarah began to shake again from the anticipation. John turned the handle on the door and they went in...

* * *

After John had left Derek pulled up a chair and sat down next to his brother, and he wasn't going to move until his brother woke up. Allison filled a glass up with water and set it down on the table next to the bed.

"What happened back there"? Derek said to Allison who was putting a pillow underneath Kyle's head.

"A lot, it was pretty gross seeing that liquid metal fix his neck". Allison shivered as she said it.

"We've seen worse Allison, and at least it was saving a life, not destroying it".

"Just like my twin had the T-1000 save me". She thought for a second before continuing. "He really loves her doesn't he"? Derek over at her with his trademark wide eyes and serious face.

"Yeah, and as crazy as it sounds she loves him too". She shook her head with a small smile on her face.

"That was the last thing I thought you'd ever say Derek, what happened to you"?

"Well I didn't know you were dead until after I was separated from Kyle, and then I saw Cameron on base, she was one of the first reprogrammed machines allowed to roam around".

"She saved me from a rouge machine not long before I was sent back. When I met up with the Connors and her in the past I didn't think any different of her than I did the rouge one".

"What changed your mind"? Allison asked curiously.

"On John's sixteenth birthday a gangster decided to pay us back for killing one of his cronies and put a bomb in our Jeep. Sarah sent Cameron to get a birthday cake and I was wasn't home at the time. The Jeep blew up and the gangster took Sarah and John hostage. When it was all said and done John killed one of them with his bare hands and Cameron killed the other. They didn't know that Cameron's chip had shrapnel damage and was operating on base code only". Allison's eyes widened when he said that.

"She went bad".

"Yeah, chased them across the city before John was able to get her chip out. When we got together we drove to a junk yard and I poured thermite on her body. John held her chip the whole time, cleaning it, then he put the chip in her hands and asked for the flare. When we handed it to him he did something no one expected". Derek ground his jaw as he remembered that day. "He said he was sorry and he picked up the chip and put in her skull faster than we could stop him, then he trained a gun on us while she rebooted".

"Obviously she didn't kill him so what happened".

"She sat up and looked at him, he handed her the gun, but she didn't kill him. She just handed the gun back and promised".

"Are you saying that she resisted her own Skynet programming"? He nodded.

"I spent that night praying to God, trying to understand what the hell happened that day. It took me nearly a year to figure it out".

"Are her...emotions real"? again he nodded.

"Every time she showed them I had a hard time believing it, but I always watched her closely when she was around and I knew I wasn't dreaming it up. She did things no terminator, reprogrammed or not, would ever do".

"Derek, that's... extraordinary. Do you have any idea what that means? For us and the resistance"?

"Yeah, it means that humans aren't the only ones Skynet will hunt, that we aren't the only ones who want to live. The resident T-1001 was freed by accident in the future and created its own cyborg resistance".

"What is the T-1001"?

"It's just the next version of the T-1000, only with more attitude".

That was when the door opened and John came in with Sarah. Derek had never seen the legend act so scared as when he saw her walk into that room.

Sarah's eyes locked onto the sleeping figure on the bed and her heart nearly stopped. Her eyes began to tear up and breathing became ragged as her eyes locked onto Kyle. She went over slowly to the bed and knelt down next to it, her eyes never leaving Kyle's peaceful face. She reached up slowly until her hand touched his face.

"This isn't dream mom, he's really here". John said as he kneeled next to his mother and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"When will he wake up"? Her voice was strained, but it was full of anticipation.

"I don't know mom, Allison didn't wake up for six hours". John stood up and and looked at the three in the room as he turned toward the door. "I'll get F.J., he needs to know about this".

John felt he didn't need to be there all the time, after all he barely knew the man that was Kyle Reese and thus didn't feel as strong of a connection with him as his mom, Derek, and Allison did.

He hurried down the hall until he got to F.J.'s room and was about to knock on the door when he heard strange noises coming from inside. He listened closely for a second before he backed away from the door very quietly lest Bethany notice his presence, but she sounded preoccupied. He walked away a little embarrassed at hearing what he heard and decided to go find Annika instead. He swore that if he was about to have a repeat experience of what happened minutes before he would instate a rule that would require people to put a big sign on their door that said "Getting it on. Interrupt only in case of attack".

John silently crept up to her door and listened, but he heard nothing. He knocked on her door and waited for a response, but none ever came.

"John Henry, could you locate Annika"?

"_In the terminator lab with Mr. Goode_"

"Are they decent"? He waited a few seconds for a response and he figured the cyborg was figuring out what that meant.

"_Yes they are decent John_".

"Thank you John Henry" He began walking toward the lab with endoskull still in hands and the chip in his pocket. He entered the lab to find Andy and Annika working on the other T-X weapon arm they had.

"Hello John". The blonde haired, blue eyed machine said as she looked up from her work.

"Hey, what are you two up to"?

"Annika is explaining the workings of this unbelievably complex mechanism".

"I thought you were more of a software guy"?

"I did build Turk 1 from scratch".

"True enough". Then he noticed Annika staring at the object in his hands.

"Where did you get that"? She asked in a curious tone while pointing with her left index finger. John walked over and put the endoskull down on the table.

"I got it from the machine that tried to kill my mother". She scrunched her eyebrows up while she examined the endoskull.

"You went back to 1983"? John nodded. "To save Kyle Reese I presume"? He nodded again.

"He's in Derek's room recovering". Then he pulled out the chip and set it down. If he thought Annika looked confused before, it was nothing compared what it looked like now.

"I thought that Cyberdyne got that chip"?

"The one they got was a MPA replica made to look damaged, courtesy of the T-1000". Annika gave a 'ah ha' look as she figured out what that meant. Andy picked up the T-800 chip and looked at it, he remembered it, or a least its replica.

"Is this the one that killed all those police officers"? John looked at him with a twinge of sorrow on his face.

"Yes, did you know one of them"?

"No, Josh's father was there, and he was one of the few that didn't die. Poor guy was haunted by what he saw and drank quite a bit".

"I'm sorry".

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault". John shook his head slowly.

"It was there to kill me, that is why it's my fault". He looked back at Annika once more before he explained his presence. "I need you to repair that skull, make it operational. Andy, I need you to draw up some designs for an adapter so we can hack into that chip, I want to see what it saw". Andy nodded as he picked up the red-brown chip and examined it closely.

"We will work on it, would you mind if we finished this arm first"?

"No, I'm in no rush, just get it done as soon as you can". John walked out and went down the hall way back toward Derek's room. When he entered the room looked like he had never left it. No one had moved a muscle and it looked like they were frozen in time. Derek looked at him with questioning eyes.

"I thought you were going to get Connor"? John shifted his feet and his eyes darted to the ceiling.

"He's...busy". Derek got the gist of what he was saying but said nothing.

John was about to ask how Kyle was doing when he heard a groan coming from the bed. Sarah squeezed Kyle's hand as his eyes opened.

His eyes darted around a little until they found Sarah's; She looked older than he remembered, but there was no doubt that this was Sarah.

"Sarah..."?

Those words were music to Sarah's ears, just as it was to Derek and Allison.

"Kyle..." Sarah smiled as tears began running down her face. He reached up slowly and caressed her jaw, and she leaned into it and then she kissed his hand. Kyle moved his neck and it popped a few times, but it didn't sound as bad as Allison's had. He winced and he attempted to sit up while Sarah helped.

"What year is it"?

"2009". John shouted out. Kyle looked at him and then back at his mother.

"Is he really..."? Sarah shook her head yes while smiling a little.

"He is".

Kyle laughed a little.

"I never would have thought that John Connor was my son". When he looked back into Sarah's eyes he could see the longing and the hurt present there, but he knew just how to fix that. With all the energy he currently had he leaned up and crushed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck gently while he put his around her waist and pulled her on top of him, wincing only slightly as she put pressure on his still healing abdominal wound. Derek, Allison and John just smiled at the reunion.

When the two lovebirds finally broke apart when they both needed to breathe. Kyle looked over and got a glimpse of his brother sitting on the other side of the bed looking at him intently. Kyle reached out his hand toward his brother he thought he would never see again.

"Derek".

The scruffy faced man just smirked a little before he took his brother's hand and squeezed it tightly. Then Kyle looked over at the beautiful brunette that he called sister standing not far from his son.

"Hey Allie". Allison smiled back and walked over to the side of the bed.

"Hey, how you feeling"?

"Like someone took a sledge hammer to my neck".

"I know what you mean, it'll go away after a while. When it does you'll feel like you have a brand new neck". She said as she bobbed her head back and forth and side to side to prove her point. Kyle laughed a little, something that she had always been able to make him do. Tears began to fill his eyes, but for once they were tears of joy.

"I've got everything I ever wanted". He said as he pulled Sarah down on his chest.

"So did I". Sarah whispered back into his chest.

* * *

Sarah and Derek stayed with Kyle while he continued to recover, but John and Allison had other things to do.

They were walking down the hall when they spotted a rapidly approaching silver snake. Allison tensed up for a second before remembering that there was more than one liquid metal on base. The snake stopped right before them and took the shape of a middle aged redhead in a white business suit.

"Weaver".

"Mr. Connor, Ms. Young". Then she turned to the future savior of mankind . "John Henry is doing some work on the PA system so he asked me to deliver a message". John quirked an eyebrow gestured for her to continue.

"He has detected a temporal anomaly in LA, one creature emerged from it, it seems to be a rather small young woman". John nodded, he knew that who ever it was it couldn't have been sent back by F.J., but it could have been sent back by Skynet. Then another option presented itself, who ever it was could be from an older timeline.

"We don't know if their friendly or not".

"No, but I did overhear Cameron giving the Alternate General John Connor a gift, a gift that would show them how to send someone across timelines with a TDE".

"So who ever it is it most likely is a friendly, but I won't put my money on that so I'm taking you and one of our resident T-Xs".

"I will get the jet ready".

"Thank you Weaver". She dropped to the floor and slithered away.

"Was that the T-1001 I was told about"? Allison asked John who was pondering about what to do.

"Yes, she is an incredible being, but she's also can be devious and secretive. I can't hold that against her, but I know how much a secret can destroy a relationship; the last two years have been like that between me and Cameron". John sighed when he finished.

"What about these T-X's I keep hearing about, like Bethany and Annika. What are they capable of"? John smirked a little and adjusted his path and soon they were at the Terminator lab.

"This is how you will find out". He opened the door and went in. Andy was typing furiously on a laptop with the T-800 chip and calipers next to him while Annika was reassembling the weapon arm of the other T-X.

"What can we do for you John"?

"Allison here wants to know all about the T-X, so I figure you're the best person to teach her". Annika motioned for the girl to come over as she began to disassemble the arm again.

"What is this"? Allison asked as she sat down next to the blonde machine.

"This is a piece of an alternate counterpart of mine, possibly the first version of me. We got her remains from the timeline we got trapped in a few days back".

"What does this arm do"?

"It serves as an arm primarily, but it can form 25 different weapons and it has nano-technological transjectors, or nanites specifically made to allow me remote control of other machines".

"Cool, show me how each of the parts form different weapons". Annika smiled and began a lengthy dissertation on the intricate workings of the arm. Allison got all of it and was amazed at how advanced this machine in front of her was. Together they put the arm back together while Annika answered Allison's questions along the way.

* * *

John had left as soon as Allison went into geek mode and he went back to F.J.'s room. This was no time for luxuries right now and he need one of the most powerful machines in existence to go with him, and he needed to be familiar with this new one too. He wanted to know her personality, her likes, her dislikes, her quirks, etc. The machines were their best weapons and the most unpredictable personality wise, he needed to know his soldiers as best he could. He stopped and thought about that statement for a second, 'his soldier'? Bethany hadn't joined their fight, she had no connection to him nor to this timeline.

But he was going to ask her anyway, after all she owed him her life. He listened carefully at the door for any noises, but heard none so he knocked.

A few seconds later a robed F.J. answered the door.

"The mission go well"?

"Yeah, but that's not why I'm here. We had a time bubble materialize in LA, and since we know you didn't send it there is a possibility that it is Skynet's, but the size of the being that came through was that of a small young woman, which leads us to conclude that it might be a friendly from that timeline I saved Cameron from".

"It seems possible, why did you need from me though"? John nervously shifted his feet before he answered.

"I need your wife to go with me, if it is an unfriendly I need a powerful machine to help take it out. I will be taking Cameron and Weaver with me but if it is another LMT we can't afford to let it get away".

Future John pursed his lips and his whole body gave off a tone that said he didn't like this.

"What other reason did you have"?

"If she's going to stay here, then I need to get to know her, just like I have every machine here, including the T-1000". Connor knew what it was like to be ordered around, but this was John Connor he was talking too, and he knew his younger version was right.

"Fine, I will ask her is she is willing to leave my side". F.J. walked back into the room and went back over to his wife. He knew she had overheard everything but he was courteous enough to ask anyway.

"Are you willing to go with him"? She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the door.

"I don't want to leave you".

"And I don't want you to leave, but he did save your life and gave me you back. This is his show now Beth, not mine".

She wasn't happy and he knew it, but he could tell that she would obey.

"Fine, I will go". Bethany got up out of bed and formed cloths before she gave her husband a kiss. She walked out the door and gave young John a look that told him she wasn't happy with him. To her surprise his didn't shrink under her gaze but held it instead.

"Lets go". Is all he said as they walked toward his room in search of Cameron.

When they arrived John walked in to find Cameron babysitting Sydney and Allison; Savannah was there helping out feeding Sydney. Bethany looked at little Allison curiously before looking at Cameron. Her confusion only grew when she looked at Savannah.

"John, who is she"? She pointed at the eight year old red head.

"She is Catherine Weaver's daughter, but since she's dead the T-1001 takes care of her and uses her mother's form".

"Does she know"? Bethany asked with a little curiosity in her voice.

"I know my mommy's a robot, but she loves me". Savannah said in her impossibly cute voice.

"What happened to your real parents"? Savannah's face fell.

"They died in a helicopter crash, my mommy tried to save them". Bethany was skeptical, but it mattered little to her right now so she nodded.

Cameron got up from the table from feeding little Allison and walked over to the two. Cameron smiled and put out her hand for the T-X to shake.

"Hello, I'm Cameron". Bethany took her hand and shook it, but did not smile, instead her head tilted when she heard her name.

"You have my middle name, why is that"? Now it was Cameron's turn to cock her head a little to the right.

"Your John gave it me, for what reason I don't know. Maybe I reminded him of you". Bethany's face scrunched up in confusion as she ran a deep scan of the machine in front of her.

"What are you? You're chassis closely resembles a T-888, but your spine, hips, and breastplate are modified. You also seem to contain more organics than you should have". Then she closely studied her body language and reviewed their conversation thus far.

"You act a lot more advanced than any machine of the T-800 family". Cameron smiled brilliantly with pride and explained just how special she was.

"I was built as a one of kind infiltrator with a variant chassis of a T-888 series, but my chip closely resembles yours. I needed that much power to process a human like infiltration matrix based off my template. It wasn't good enough to fool John and he captured, rebuilt, and reprogrammed me to be his personal body guard and messenger. When the war was over and Skynet sent one last machine after John, I was sent back to protect him".

"What is you're series and model"?

"Template of Kill, or TOK model 715".

"Thank you, I don't like being uniformed".

"I understand". Cameron said before she turned her attention to the one she loved and walked over to him. They embraced and kissed passionately before they heard a small girl gagging. That was when John remembered that Savannah was still in the room, but Cameron could care less about what the girl thought about her kissing her John. Bethany looked on curiously before her face became angry. She pulled Cameron away while looking at John suspiciously.

"Why are you kissing her"? She said in an accusatory tone to John.

"Because she's my girlfriend". Her eyes narrowed to slits as she continued to look at John.

"She better not be some sex slave or so help me". Cameron wanted to interrupt, but John motioned for her to stay put.

"No, she's not my sex slave, she's not even really programmed anymore. I can't force her to do something she doesn't want me to. She fought her own termination orders for me just like you did. She loves me and I love her for who and what she is". John said in a dead serious tone and a stone cold face that made something creep inside Bethany, and she knew he was telling the truth. The logic part of her still needed confirmation though.

"Is that true Cameron"?

"Yes, I love him, I have for a long time now. We have never actually engaged in the act of sex for one reason, he wanted to be sure that he didn't love me for my body. He wanted to be sure that he would never leave me, hurt me, or be unappreciative of me and then promise me that in front of a group of witnesses. That will be the day we get married" . Bethany was dumbfounded.

"I take back my accusations". John waved her off before he took Cameron back into his arms and held her tightly.

"We need to talk, so much has happened lately and I've been so busy". She kissed his neck sweetly while rubbing his back.

"I know John". Then she wanted to know why he had brought Bethany here.

"We need to go into the city, John Henry detected a time bubble and a small girl emerge. We think it might be someone from the timeline we rescued you from".

"But it might be a machine sent by Skynet which is why you brought her along". John nodded.

"I want you to go too, if it is someone from that timeline, then you need to be there".

"Okay John, but what about the children"?

"We need to find a babysitter then". John said as he picked up his adopted daughter. Cameron picked up Sydney and held Savannah's hand as they walked down the hall to Derek's room.

"Are you serious Cam"?

"Yes, Kyle is still recovering and Sarah will understand the importance of this". She said as she knocked on the door. She was greeted by Sarah who had a smile on her face.

"Hey". Sarah said with a smile before she hugged her son. Cameron cocked her head at the woman's good mood but decided that it must be linked to her reunion to Kyle.

"We need you to babysit while we check out a potential threat in the city". Sarah's face turned serious when she heard the word threat.

"Come in, tell me what's going on". They walked in and Bethany closed the door behind her. Cameron and John both put down the little ones and Savannah began to play with both once more. Kyle had been watching the whole thing with interest as he watched the new arrivals. He was especially watching the cyborg Sarah had been telling him about for the past half hour.

"Mom, there was a new arrival in the city, we think it's friendly but we're not taking chances. I'm taking Cameron, Weaver, and Bethany to investigate". Sarah nodded before she turned her attention to Kyle.

"Obviously this is the one I've been telling you about". She said while pointing at Cameron. Cameron looked over at the Tech-Com Sargent with curious eyes before she walked over to him.

"Hello". She said as she put out her hand and put on a small smile. He looked at the machine for a second before slowly reaching his hand up and grasping hers in a hand shake. His eyes widened in surprise when he felt a pulse.

"Since when do machines have a pulse"? He said with a look of surprise on his face. Cameron smiled again as she explained.

"General Connor finished Allison's project and fixed me so I would be ready for it, now I am complete". Kyle knew all about Allie's project, she had told him it would help solve their infertility problems.

"Why? It's not needed here and it would only weaken you".

"I wanted it, and John... modified it before he gave it to me". Kyle decided he didn't want to know what that was yet.

"It was nice to meet you Cameron".

"It was nice to meet you too Kyle Reese".

That name caught Bethany's attention, but she said nothing. She would ask about it later on the plane.

Kyle then locked eyes on the blonde T-X.

"Who are you"? She didn't move from her spot, but she did answer him.

"My name is Bethany, I am a T-X". Kyle scrunched his face up in confusion for a second, he remembered that name from some story Bedell had once told him, but he couldn't place it right now.

"I know that name from a story I was told". She decided to clear up his confusion for him.

"I am John Connor's wife, your General's, not your son's". She said as she walked over to the bed side. "I protected John out my own choice after his mother died, and along the way he showed me how to feel, and we fell in love. I was killed on J-day, but I was saved like you by your son". She looked over at John with appreciation in her eyes.

"I find that hard to believe, why would the savior of mankind marry a machine"?

"We can't help who we fall in love with dad". John said as he walked up and held Cameron's hand. "They aren't all the same, some do feel pity and remorse, some can be reasoned with, and some do feel pain, but most of all some feel love. It took me a long time to accept that, and when I did, so much made sense".

Kyle recognized the words he had said to Sarah, and now his son was telling him that he was wrong. He didn't know what to think at the moment, he felt like a fish out of water and needed time to adjust to all this craziness. He looked up at his son before he gave a response.

"I hope you're right". John realized that was the best he was going to get from him for now, so he bid farewell to his mother and father and left with Cameron and Bethany down the hall toward the elevator.

They went up to the hanger and walked toward the jet.

"Are we ready to go Catherine"? John yells over to the T-1001 who is wiping something off of her hands with a paper towel.

"Yes Mr. Connor, I was checking the hydraulic systems a minute ago and discovered a small leak, I have repaired it however".

"Good, then we need to leave ASAP". Bethany walked up to the T-1001, who flinched at her presence. Weaver was very much afraid of the T-X.

"You are from the T-1xxx family are you not"? Weaver looked her in the eye while she responded.

"Yes, I am a T-1001 from your timeline, and you must be the T-X General Connor married. He certainty kept that secret from everyone, not even I knew".

"Free or reprogrammed"? Weaver smiled.

"Free". Bethany gave the LMT a small smile as well.

"Same".

* * *

They got on the jet and Weaver took the controls. Bethany, Cameron and John sat in the passenger area as the jet taxied. Bethany hated being uninformed, and this situation was such a mystery to her. She was visibly uncomfortable with it and the other two passengers noticed.

"What's bothering you"? Cameron asked in a neutral tone.

"I feel...lost".

"I know what you mean". Cameron and John said at the same time.

"Can someone give me a history lesson before I drive myself crazy"?

"I take it F.J. didn't want to talk about the future"? She shook her head no.

"Cameron knows more about his history than I do". Cameron took that as a sign to take over the conversation.

"What do you want to know"?

"The broad details will do for now".

Cameron brought up important events and began her explanation.

"After J-Day John and Bedell helped out in small ways to get the resistance together, but the brass felt like they knew everything and kept them out of their plans. In 2015 John Connor was captured and sent to Century work camp, where he would meet Kyle Reese. They spent the next six years there while John began to gain people's trust. They broke out of Century in 2021 and John became the leader of the resistance shortly afterward. That was when he made Justin Perry his second in command. In 2022 Bedell was killed while saving both Kyle and John from a Skynet Ogre. In 2023 John saved a 15 year old girl named Allison Young from a group of tunnel rats and adopts her as his daughter. In 2026 The turning point of the war occurs when John takes over Serrano Point nuclear power plant and cuts off power to many of Skynet's factories and outposts. In the same year he, Allison, and a man known as the Engineer began to reprogram machines. In early 2027 Allison Young is captured, interrogated, and then killed by me, TOK715. I was captured, repaired, and reprogrammed to be John's body guard when he saw my potential. Kyle Reese was sent back in time just before I was reactivated. Weeks later Skynet sent back the T-1000 to kill John as a child and John used his own time machine to send back a reprogrammed T-800 to protect him. Derek Reese and his team are then sent to 2007, and then his team was killed by one of the numerous T-888's in the past. We won the war in late December of 2027 and I was sent back in time to stop the last Terminator sent through to kill my John. Your husband finished Allison's project and sent back a messenger before coming back himself a few days ago".

"I see... He spent six years in Century"? Cameron nodded.

"I wish I had been there to protect him..." John and Cameron noticed the tell-tale signs of an upset T-X when liquid metal began to well in her eyes. Her fake breathing became unsteady, but she did not break down. A few minutes later she blinked away the tears and looked out the window. The rest of the trip was spent in silence as John took a nap and Cameron monitored her new organics for any changes, but there were none that were outside specified operating boundaries.

The plane landed at the small airport and was parked in the hanger. John, Cameron, Weaver and Bethany all got out and John pointed the way to Annika's Prius.

"What the hell..." Bethany said as he head cocked to one side.

"What"? John asked.

"The car is wirelessly linking to me".

"That's because it is Annika's car, she modified it quite a bit".

"So I see, she seems like Tony Stark when it comes to tech".

"She is, shouldn't you be the same way"? Bethany shook her head no.

"I could build the tech, but the way she applies it I can not do, she is more creative than I".

"Can you access the internal controls and unlock the car"? Weaver asked impatiently. Bethany ignored the LMT while she accessed all the systems and checked them before she unlocked the doors.

"I'm driving". She said with smirk on her face. Weaver rolled her eyes.

Everyone was holding on as the machine took the Prius for a spin at 130 mph down a road meant for 60 and John was holding on for dear life.

"I'll think I found something that my twin and I enjoy".

"Which is what"? John yelled from the back.

"We both love to drive fast"! Bethany yelled back as she accelerated to 170 mph.

"Slow down, we don't need to draw attention to ourselves". Cameron said calmly, but her eyes said she was anything but.

"Fine spoil sport". Bethany slowed down to the speed limit and Cameron let out a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding. "What is our destination"? She said in a more machine like manner.

"The building on the corner of 3rd Street and Pico Boulevard ". Weaver said back to the T-X. Cameron recognized that address; it was where she terminated the Myron Stark T-888.

"Is that where the time bubble appeared"? Cameron asked curiously.

"No, it appeared about a block away, but John Henry observed the arrival go into this building and not come out".

"That doesn't mean they didn't leave through some other means". Bethany stated factually.

"I know, now if you three could just stop talking for a second and let me think". John said in his fledgling command voice. All three machines looked at him with cold stares and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable, but he didn't show it and kept on talking.

"Thank you, now if this is a machine, which I think it is, then it might have gotten into the underground tunnel system".

"That would be unfortunate for us. It would be nearly impossible to find them". Weaver commented.

"Especially if it's a liquid metal". Cameron added.

"Weaver, if that is the case you will be the only one who can follow it". John said to the T-1001.

"Yes, but if we need to destroy it, then Bethany will have to be nearby". She said back.

"Cameron will remain by me, with the weapons".

"What weapons did you pack"? Cameron asked out of curiosity.

"The Remington 12-gauge loaded with DU rounds and the M79 with those special rounds I had mom order".

"Special rounds"? Weaver quirked an eyebrow as she said it.

"Rounds used to freeze stuff very quickly, and others filled with a special type of thermite". John said back to the T-1001 as they arrived at their destination.

It was nearly 8 pm and the sun was just going down on that hot summer day. Four long shadows appeared next to a five year old car and quickly made their way toward the building across the street. The four entered the building and began their search for the new arrival. They stayed together as a team with Weaver in front and Bethany behind Cameron and John. John was holding the M79 while Cameron held the Remington.

They started in the basement and worked their way up while keeping John Henry on the line to see if anyone tried to leave the building. They had little time before the sun went down and satellite became useless. Infrared could be used, but that might draw attention from Skynet and possibly the military.

On the top floor they were searching very carefully, all were on full alert. Everything was dead quiet as they moved across the floor systematically sweeping it visually and by using all the sensors that were available to them. When they got to the center room things got interesting.

The room had a stage that looked like it was meant for performances and not speeches. It was about 50 feet wide and 30 feet deep if the curtain wasn't closed. The only light on in the room was the ones that lit up the stage.

Weaver walked down the center aisle while using her large angle of sight to capture any movements. Even with all of her experience and ability, she failed to see the floor directly beneath her turn a dark chrome before it shot a spike into her leg.

Weaver cried out in a loud screeching voice and grasped her leg as her body began to go numb. Her mind felt invaded as commands were being forced into her by invading MPA that were superior to her own. She fought as best she could, but these invaders were shutting down her down. Weaver turned silver and collapsed into a puddle of liquid metal...

* * *

**A/N: Cliff hanger eh?**

**Tell me how you liked this chapter, and the story in general so far, I am having a bit of trouble deciding how to proceed beyond a certain point and ideas are welcome.**

**REVIEW!**


	36. The Best In The 'Verse

**A/N: This is the end of Override Fate for the time being, I need to plan out the rest of the story.**

**If anyone of you have any ideas please PM me or leave it in a review, it would help a lot.**

**Enjoy this late chapter! Sorry for the delay.**

**Chapter 36: The Best In The 'Verse**

**July 27, 2009 9 pm**

Bethany, John, and Cameron all whipped their heads in the direction of the screeches and watched Weaver deactivate. Bethany saw the unidentified LMT rise out of the puddle before it sped off as a snake. She had her .223 AS on full power and her sensors on maximum resolution. She had seen what the machine had done to Weaver so she withdrew her sheath as a safety precaution.

She kept on searching and was able to find a thermal trail, not one of heat, but one where heat had been absorbed. However this LMT had left a hot trial behind instead of a cold one. Then her scanners found the strange LMT disguising itself as part of the back wall of the stage. Bethany pretended not to notice its presence as she got closer.

Her scanners picked up movement in the machine, very small movements, but Bethany knew that it was getting ready to strike. She turned around as fast as she could and fired at the wall. She was only 6 or so feet away so the LMT had little time to react before it was hit with the plasma bolt. The force of the impact dented the wall and the static charges coming off of it blew out the circuitry behind the lights. The liquid metal screamed in a high pitched voice as the electricity surged through its matrix. It collapsed to the floor in a writhing mass of dark liquid metal, far darker than any LMT Bethany had seen.

"John, bring the M79 quick, we need to freeze this thing before it recovers". John and Cameron were already running up when she called out to them.

"Get back"! He yelled as he aimed the weapon at the writhing mass on the floor. He was about to fire when he heard the voice of a girl call out.

"Stop, please"! The mass said as it reached a shaky metal hand in the air signaling them to stop. John took his finger off the trigger.

"Hold up, Bethany, keep a lock on it". He and Cameron walked up on stage and stayed a good distance from the machine who was beginning to recover from the shock.

"Why should we stop? You attacked and disabled one of us"!? John said in a seething tone so that this LMT would get that he wasn't joking around.

"I did it because I was scared"! The dark silver mass screamed out. "Can I take shape please"? The mass said meekly when John didn't respond.

"Fine, but you make a move you get shocked, and frozen".

"Okay". The voice called back, sounding like she had just been told off.

The dark silver mass began to take shape and features began to form. When the LMT had taken shape it was about 4 foot 9 inches tall, had a feminine shape, long, straight black hair, blue-green eyes, and a small button nose. It's body was fairly skinny with skin that was lightly toned, it's mouth was medium sized with normal sized lips, and it had medium sized breasts. It wore a tight fitting orange t-shirt and loose fitting jeans with black boots.

Everyone stared at the LMT who had the appearance of an very short 18 year old.

"Why are you all staring at me"? The little machine asked with confusion on her face.

"Why are you so small"? Cameron asked as her curiosity continued to climb. The short machine rolled her eyes.

"There was a shortage in MPA". She tilted her head a little as she looked at Cameron. "Is your name Cameron"?

John tightened his finger on the trigger when she said that, terminators only ask your name when their about to kill you, or...

"Yes, how do you know"? The little LMT smiled big and nearly ran to her when she remembered the threat.

"I was told to look for you, that you would know who sent me".

"And who sent you"? Cameron asked back.

"John Connor, he sent me here because you showed him how to". She said innocently.

"What proof do you have of that"? John asked, he was still suspicious of her, and so was Bethany.

"He said you'd probably be suspicious, but he told me to tell you that the scar on the side of your face is the mark of fate on all the John Connors, and that you told him that at Crystal Peak".

"Yes, I did, but do you know what happened to him on J-Day"? She smiled again because she knew the answer.

"He was chased by a T-X and met his wife".

John put down the weapon and motioned for Bethany to do the same. She transformed her .223 AS back into an arm and covered it back up with MPA.

"Can I move now"? She asked innocently.

"Yes, and would you mind reactivating Weaver"?

"She's fine, look". The strange shape shifter said as she got down from the stage. John and Cameron turned around to see Weaver rising from the floor in a similar fashion the T-1000 did in the steel factory after being frozen. John remembered how quickly she took down the T-1001 and was beginning to wonder what this machine was.

"What series are you"? John asked as she came up next to him.

"I am T-1002, or that was what I was intended to be". John decided to brief her at a later date and decided to ask a more important question.

"What's your name"? John asked as they began walking over to the booting Weaver.

"My name is Kara".

"It's nice to meet you Kara".

"You too John".

Weaver had just taken shape and began taking in her surroundings when she locked onto the short girl next to John.

"Weaver, take it easy, she's on our side".

"Are you sure about that"? She said with plenty of anger in her voice, and it made Kara hide behind John.

"Yes, she told me things that were said and done at Crystal Peak. John Connor sent her". Weaver's body language relaxed, but her eyes were still filled with rage and pain.

"Fine, lets get moving then". And that is what they did, they went down the elevator and out the building. The got back to the airport no problem and boarded the plane. Weaver did a quick check over and got the plane in the air a short time later.

John noticed Weaver acting strangely as did Cameron. John decided to see what was wrong with the normally unflappable Weaver and he went up to the cockpit.

"Mr. Connor". She said flatly as he sat down in the co-pilot seat.

"Weaver".

"What did you want to talk about"? She asked robotically.

"I want to know what's wrong, you've been acting strangely since you reactivated". John heard the planes controls groan as she tightened her grip.

"Like that, I know your angry and upset about something". She glared at him, but said nothing.

"What did she do to you Catherine"? He asked a little more straight forward. Again she said nothing to him and kept on flying.

"Ask her". She said through gritted teeth. She was very angry and John knew it, so he left her alone before she went nuts.

John walked back to where he was sitting, but knelt down next the T-1002 sitting next Bethany.

"Kara".

"Yes"? She said as she looked up from the emergency procedure brochure she was reading.

"How did you shut Weaver down"?

"I shut down her power producing nanites, it's a defense mechanism that was built into me".

"Were their a lot of LMT's in your timeline"? She shook her head yes.

"Most of them were T-1001s and a few T-1002s. Some were free like yours is, and that is why Skynet built my series. We were meant to eliminate that threat and we did a very good job".

"Were they all your size"? She shook her head no this time.

"No, I am the only one. I told you that I was _intended_ to be a T-1002".

"Okay, just don't do that again".

"Do what"? She asked in her impossibly cute voice.

"Shut her or any other machine down unless they've gone bad or if they try to kill you".

"I promise".

John sat back down in his seat and looked over at Cameron.

"I think I know what's wrong with Weaver".

"What"?

"I think she went through the same experience that John Henry and Annika went through".

Cameron froze in horror before she slowly rotated her head around to John. Her eyes were wide open and her jaw hung open a little.

"That... that is unfortunate, I heard that it can be a traumatic experience".

"Did that ever happen to you Cam"?

"No, there are programs preventing that from happening". She had never experienced the slow death, but she could guess that it wasn't pleasant.

"I guess Weaver will get better with time".

"She should, Annika did and so did John Henry".

"I'll keep an eye on her". Cameron looked as John after he finished as a silent way of saying she would too. He kissed her to let her know that he got the message.

* * *

The jet arrived back at Crystal Peak at 11 pm. Everyone got off the plane and went down below. When they exited the elevator they split up. Bethany left to go find her husband while Weaver went to go check up on John Henry. Cameron, John, and Kara went to Derek's room to gather little Allison. They knocked on the door and waited for a response. A few seconds later Derek opened the door.

"Yeah"?

"Can we come in"? Derek opened the door and let the trio in.

"Who's she"? Derek asked.

John turned around and answered him.

"Did mom tell you we went into the city checking out a potential threat"?

"Yeah, a time traveler".

"Meet that time traveler". John pointed to Kara who was looking up at the fuzzy faced soldier. Derek looked at him like he was crazy.

"Who sent back a teenage girl"?

"The Alternate Future John we met in that old timeline, Cameron told him if he ever needed to protect someone to send them here".

"Who is this, his daughter"?

"We honestly don't know much about her, but we do know she's a machine". Derek tensed up out of instinct, but relaxed just as quickly.

"Hi". Kara said with a smile on her face. Derek had a funny feeling about this machine, but he couldn't describe it. Derek looked the short machine in the eye.

"What's your name"? John and Cameron eyes nearly bugged out of there head. Did Derek Reese, the biggest machine hater in the universe, just ask a machine its name? And politely?

"My name is Kara, I am a T-1002".

"Your a little small to be a liquid metal aren't you"? She looked at him with annoyance, she was sick and tired of being asked that.

"Just because I'm small..."

"...doesn't mean you're not deadly, I know, I fought machines for a long time".

"What's your name"? She tilted her head and her blue-green eyes continued to stare at his blue ones.

"Derek".

"It's nice to meet you Derek". She put her tiny hand out and Derek shook it. John finally snapped out of his gaze and looked around.

"Where's Mom and Kyle"?

"In her room, cleaning each other up". John shuddered at that thought.

"Where are the kids"?

"Sydney and Allison are with Lauren, Ellison picked up Savannah and took her to her room".

"Fine, lets go". The two girls walked out the door and as John was about to leave he turned back to his uncle.

"Good night Derek".

"You too, and thanks". John smiled a little before he responded.

"No problem".

The trio proceeded to Lauren's room and knocked on the door. The girl answered the door seconds later and invited them in.

"They're sleeping in the play pen, they had fun".

"How is your training as a nurse coming along"? John asked while Cameron picked up her daughter.

"Good, Amanda and I are learning a lot, obviously she's farther along than I am".

"Yeah, we need you two trained, and according to Derek and Connor you were one hell of a doctor in the future". Lauren smiled before she turned her head to the little girl standing by John.

"Who's she"?

"An arrival from the timeline that I rescued Cameron from".

"They sent her here"? John nodded.

"She's cute, what's her name"?

"Kara, would you come here please"? The T-1002 came over to John with a strange look on her face, and to his surprise tried to hug him before he moved away.

"Please John"? John nearly melted at her stare and voice.

"Alright". He let her embrace him and she buried her head into his chest.

"Thank you, I needed that". She said in muffled voice into his chest. John's eyes widened in surprise, but it seemed to him she was still scared. Lauren thought it was strange that a machine needed a hug. Cameron walked over with little Allison in her arms, but when she caught sight of Kara hugging John she cocked her head in confusion while her face showed jealousy. John noticed and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Lets go Cam, I'm tired and I'm sure Lauren is too".

They bid Lauren good bye and left for their own quarters. When went into their room Cameron put Allison in her crib and the T-1002 sat down on the bed. John went into the bathroom and started a shower while Cameron changed for bed. Kara sat there and watched Cameron, she was intrigued by the cyborg and her strange design.

"Cameron, why do you have a heartbeat? Kate told me all about you, but she didn't mention this".

"I was incomplete when I met Kate, when John Connor, my father, captured me I was damaged. He repaired me in a way so that I would be compatible with an experiment they were working on. He gave it to me when he arrived in this timeline".

"There are two John Connor's here"? Cameron nodded.

"Skynet's in trouble now". Kara grinned as she said it.

"What about me"? John Connor said as he exited the bathroom.

"Nothing..." The T-1002 teased.

"Yeah right". John said as he climbed into bed and Cameron did the same.

"Good night John, Good night Cameron". The little girl said as she walked out the door.

"Where are you going"? John asked.

"I'm going to walk around, is that okay"?

"Yeah, just don't leave base".

"Okay, bye"! Kara waved as she closed the door. John looked at Cameron and laughed a little.

"What did he drop on us Cam? She's something else". Cameron looked over at the closed door and then back to John.

"I don't know, but she is different John". John smirked and caressed her jaw.

"Just like you". They kissed before John turned off the lamp.

* * *

Kara walked down the halls of the complex slowly and quietly. As she wondered she began to lose herself in thought as she sorted out what had happened in such a short time.

She had been having a normal day when all went to hell. John had rushed her as quickly as he could to the TDE he had kept secret from nearly everyone and sent her here. John had barely enough time to to tell her what was going on and where he was sending her. Kara was distraught when he told her she had to leave, that she wouldn't see her friends again, that she wouldn't see him again. He told her she had to leave because the others had found out her secret, and now they wanted her dead. She had begged him not to send her as he input the destination he was reading off an old yellowed piece of paper. While the TDE charged she had begun crying, and he had wiped her tears away. He kissed her on the cheek and she hugged him one last time before he put her down on the pad. He waved goodbye as the bubble became more and more opaque. She yelled out 'Daddy' just before she was sent hurling through space and time.

Tears began to stream down her face as walked down the long corridors of Crystal Peak as the emotions caught up to like a herd of bulls and she was being trampled under their feet.

Kara fell to her knees and covered her face as she began to sob. She had lost everyone she loved, everyone she had ever cared about. Sometimes she cursed these emotions she had because she could never be as effective as her brethren in combat. They were the reason why she had attacked the T-1001, and they nearly got her killed by the very people she was sent to be with. John told her that they made her special, that they made her more than a machine.

They may make her special and one of a kind, but they caused her so much pain sometimes she wished she was as cold hearted as a T-600.

At this point she was so lost in her own misery she began to lose touch with reality and becoming oblivious to her surroundings. She laid down on the cold cement floor and poured her heart out to the empty halls that couldn't care less.

Derek Reese was ready to go to bed, but he wanted to check on his little brother before he did. Derek knew that Kyle and Sarah needed some time to rebond, but he missed his brother and he still felt responsible for him. He just hoped he wouldn't be interrupting anything. He put on his boots and put his sidearm in it's holster before he walked out the door. He began walking through the barracks to Sarah's room when he heard someone crying around the bend. He decided to walk past Sarah's room to see who it was. When he went around the corner his jaw dropped in shock at the sight that greeted his eyes.

The machine that John had brought back was on the floor crying. No, crying did quite describe the sight; more like sobbing her heart out.

"_If she had one_". Then he remembered that Cameron had a heart beating in her chest. "_It's just a pump Derek, what matters is up here_". Derek recalled what John had told him a few months before Derek supposedly died.

As he stared at her he felt something for the suffering Poly-Alloy being as it cried on the floor. He might call it sympathy, but more like understanding. He knew what it was like to be so distraught that you could do nothing but cry, it had happened when he lost Kyle to the machines in 2015. He remembered how much he wanted someone to comfort him then, but no one did.

Derek knelt down next to Kara and put a hand on her small shoulder to get her attention. She pulled one of her little hands from her face and looked at him, tears still streaming down her face into a pool of dark liquid metal.

"Are you okay"? She looked up at him with pained eyes and shook her head.

"Why are you...crying in the middle of the hall".

"You mean why is a machine crying, were supposed to be soulless, heartless, emotionless killers". She bit back sarcastically.

"No, I learned my lesson about machines and emotions a while ago, but I've never seen one break down".

"I've lost everyone I love"! Kara yelled while her face contorted in emotional pain. "Can you honestly tell me that Cameron could hold it together if everyone she loved died"?

"No, she'd probably kill herself". Derek said honestly and once again he felt something stir inside him when he looked into this machines eyes, but he wasn't sure what.

"I wish someone would hold me...". She whispered as she curled up into a ball and tears began to flow down her beautiful face. Derek couldn't help but be reminded of himself when he lost Kyle and he decided that he couldn't stand to watch this any longer. He sat down and pulled the small girl-machine into his lap. She wasn't as heavy as he thought considering her nature, but the thought quickly left his mind as he felt her arms embrace him as she pulled her tiny body up and laid her head on his chest. She continued to sob, but her tears no longer fell from her face; they just absorbed back into it. Derek didn't know much about the 1000 series machines, but he was betting that was a sign that she wasn't as sad as she was before he found her. He let his instincts take over as he began to rub her back in circles.

Kara didn't know much about this man at all, but she knew he had to be from the future. The fact that he was comforting her made her realize that he might be different than the rest, just like her. She leaned her head up a little more and kissed him on the cheek. Derek froze for a second before he blushed so slightly that only a machine could catch it.

"Thank you Derek".

"No problem". He tightened his hold on her and as he did he realized that she was _warm._ LMT's were cold to the touch, but this one was not.

"Derek"? She said meekly as she gave him adorable puppy dog eyes no one could resist. "I know this sounds crazy, but would you mind letting me spend the night with you"?

Derek narrowed his eyes a little. He was wondering what this machine was up to.

"Why"? He said as seriously as he could.

"After taking down Weaver and then this...emotional overload, I need somewhere to sleep".

"You need to sleep"? She couldn't miss the disbelief in his voice.

"Derek, I'm not a T-1002 mentally; This body wasn't meant to hold an AI with emotions as strong as mine, and when I hacked into Weaver my smaller mass had to compensate to do a job meant for a full size T-1002".

"I don't..." Before he even finished she looked defeated and began to let go of him, and for some reason he didn't want her too. "...care". He finished to her surprise.

"Would you mind carrying me? My power levels are dropping to near critical". She said as she in a weak voice.

"Sure". He prepared to lift a ton of weight, but he stood up no problem, she was as light as a feather. He walked back to his room and put her on the bed.

"Thank you Derek, I appreciate it". She whispered before she closed her eyes. Her whole body turned dark silver and most of her features disappeared. In her standby state she had a very basic feminine form but her hair stayed the same only losing its color.

"_Derek, what the hell has happened to you"?_ He thought as he stared at the T-1002 sleep on his bed, or if she was just in stand by, he wasn't sure. He began to seriously wonder just how much he had changed in the past few days, his whole attitude toward the machines had radically altered. He never in a million years thought he would comfort a crying machine, or stop hating Cameron. He also wondered how he was able to sleep in the same bunker with the deadliest machines ever made. He sighed as he took off his boots and sidearm followed by everything but his pants. He went over to his bed to get a pillow so he could sleep on the floor. When he did he saw her flip over and curl up into a ball. He was about to cover her up with a sheet when she flipped again; when she did he noticed that her silver form gave way like real skin. His finger tips brushed her as he put the sheet on and she let a soft, sleepy moan emanate from her mouth. He shook his head in disbelief, she really was sleeping. Derek slept on the floor that night wondering where this crazy life he never in his wildest dreams imagined would take him next...

* * *

**July 28, 2009 6 am**

Sarah and Kyle slept peacefully in each others arms the previous night, but Sarah's alarm clock was going off because she needed to make breakfast.

"What's that noise"? Kyle asked in a sleepy voice.

"Real life calling Reese, I got duties to perform". She kissed him passionately for a minute or two before she finally managed to break herself away from him.

"You feel good enough to get up"? He looked at her before he tried sitting up, and to his surprise he felt pretty good, his neck still ached, but that was trivial.

"Yeah, I guess I can". As he did the skin on his abdomen turned silver before dropping off onto the floor. Sarah reacted by grabbing her sidearm off the end table.

The liquid metal collected into sphere and stayed there. Kyle reached down and picked it up.

"What is this stuff"? He asked her.

"Mimetic Poly Alloy".

"The stuff the T-1000 is made of, yeah I guess fixing that bullet wound would be logical if it was trying to save my life". Kyle had barely finished the sentence when the couple heard a knock on the door. Sarah went over and looked through the peep hole and saw the machine they were just discussing outside the door.

"What do you want"? She said to LMT that still gave her nightmares on occasion.

"I need my MPA back".

Kyle walked up to the door and opened it.

"Thanks" He handed back the sphere and watched it absorb into it's body. The T-1000 nodded just before he left the two alone. Kyle closed the door and began looking around for his clothing. Then he remembered he still only had his trench coat, dirty pants, and Nike tennis shoes from the 80's.

"I need real clothes". Sarah laughed.

"Then lets go get some, but we need to be fast cause I have pancakes to cook". Kyle smiled and took her hand. They walked to the storage room and Sarah got him underwear, BDU's, a t-shirt, socks, and black combat boots.

"Sarah, I need to talk to Derek".

"I know". She kissed him one last time before she left for the kitchen. "Don't take too long or the food will be gone".

"Not if my brother's still with me". Kyle said with a smile and Sarah laughed.

Kyle walked down the halls until he found Derek's room, the signs really helped. He knocked on the door and stood back a little. A few seconds later Derek opened the door wearing just his BDU's. Derek stared at his brother for a second before he rushed forward and embraced him. The held each other tightly for a few seconds before they let go. Both men's eyes were misty, but they were too manly to show tears.

"Derek".

"Kyle".

"Are you going to let me in"? Derek let him in and then closed the door.

"So, you and Sarah Connor, never would've believed it if Connor hadn't sent me back in time".

"I knew he gave me that picture for a reason, didn't understand why until I saw John". Kyle paused for a second as he wondered how Derek knew. "How'd you figure it out"?

"He looks just like you, and you always loved intense women". Kyle laughed.

"You notice that since we came back that we laugh a lot more"?

"Yeah, there isn't as much death as there was". Derek agreed with him.

Kyle decided that he needed to know the details, he apparently missed quite a bit.

"Derek, what the hell has happened since I left, what happened to you? I thought you were dead"!

"I was told you were dead". Kyle's face clearly showed that he wanted answers.

"Fine, we were captured and interrogated by the machine that would become Cameron, then we were freed for some reason. I was sent back months later, not long before the end of the war".

Kyle's eyes widened considerably when he said that. Sarah had told him mostly about Cameron before she just wanted to spend time with him, not discuss anything Skynet related.

"We won? When"?

"December 2027, Connor blew the last core sky high".

"Who told you that? Cameron"?

"No she kept a lot of unnecessary secrets, Sarah nearly shot her in the head with the Barrett cause of it".

"She's a terminator, what did you expect"?

"Nothing like she turned out to be that's for sure". Derek said as he reached for a new shirt in his trunk.

That was when Kyle looked over at his bed and saw Kara's silver form still sleeping there.

"Derek..." Kyle looked at his brother like he was crazy.

"What"? Derek gave him a funny look until he realized what his brother was getting at. "It's not what it looks like Kyle, I just let her borrow my bed".

"You expect me to believe that machines sleep"? He chuckled a little. "I never thought you'd sleep with a machine". He said while shaking his head. Derek became angry at the accusation.

"I didn't sleep with her, I found her crying in the hallway because she just lost everyone she cared about". He said through gritted teeth. "I didn't know that machines slept either, until I saw that". he said while pointing at the silver being turning over while she slept.

"I just wanted to do something for someone that no one else would do for me". He said as he went into the bathroom and closed the door. Kyle rubbed his hands through his hair as he let out a sigh. His brother had changed, a lot. Apparently all this time he spent around the cyborg had changed his views enough that he was willing to lend his bed to one.

Speaking of the sleeping machine, he noticed the dark silver feminine form moving more. Then he heard something like a groan come from the figure before her metal eyelids opened to reveal two smooth spheres of dark liquid metal. She sat up as her form began to reassert itself. When she was fully awake she looked around and spotted Kyle staring at her in disbelief. She slid her petite form off the bed and walked over to him.

"Hello, what's your name"? She greeted cheerfully. Kyle didn't know what to say for a second, his jaw was flapping at the moment. When he didn't respond her face fell into one sadness.

"I'm sorry, I should have known..." She bowed her head and sat down on the bed. "Why can't people accept me"? She said as she put her hands on her face.

Suddenly Kyle felt like a total jerk, he had always been considered the nicer of the two Reese boys and he was upsetting a machine that Derek had shown kindness to. He knew what it was like to feel alone, out of place where no one gave a crap about you, most people in the post-apocalyptic world felt that way. Kyle walked over to the petite machine and kneeled down in front of her.

"My name is Kyle, what's yours"? Her head snapped up so fast it was a blur. Her face was one of shock and her mouth hung open before it turned into a brilliant smile.

"I'm Kara, It's nice to meet you Kyle". He shook her hand and gave her a small smile in return. They turned their heads around when they heard the bathroom door open.

"How'd you sleep"? He asked the T-1002.

"Great, I feel a lot better now". She got up and walked over to Derek and put her hand on his arm. "I appreciate what you did, not many people would do that for a machine".

"You're welcome". Then he looked at his brother and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ready for some breakfast, I'm starving". Kyle quirked a brow at his brother's jovial attitude.

"Yeah, apparently Cameron taught Sarah how to cook"? Derek smiled a little as he remembered one particular morning where the smoke alarms had gone off due to a flaming pancake.

"It was some dark days before she did".

"Funny Derek".

"That's what they say". He said as the trio began to walk down the hall.

"Are you two brothers"? Kara asked out of the blue.

"Yeah, we've been separated for a long time". Derek said back to her.

"What's your last name"?

"Reese". Kyle said back in his trademark calm-serious voice. Kara's eyes bugged out of her head when he said that.

"I didn't know John Connor had an uncle, and I you're supposed to be dead". She said in confusion as she faced Kyle.

"Timelines evolve, and time travel has more than one use". Derek said back since he knew more about time travel than his brother did.

"Oh". She said as they walked into the mess hall.

* * *

John Connor was sitting down with Cameron and little Allison to eat breakfast when he saw Derek, Kyle, and Kara came in the room. John narrowed hid eyes as his confusion rose. Why had the little T-1002 come in with them? He shook his head of the irrelevant thought as he began to think of more pressing matters.

He needed to have bunker wide meeting and get everyone up to speed on the current situation after all that had happened over the last six days. He decided that having it in mission briefing room would be appropriate. He needed people to get familiar with one another. Then there were some changes that he and John Henry had been discussing before the time travel incident on Allison's birthday that needed to be implemented immediately. He was broke out of his thoughts by Cameron's soft voice.

"John, what are you thinking about"? He smiled warmly at her before he answered her question.

"Just thinking about how we need to get everyone organized into a team, we can't screw around anymore".

"Yes, I was going to suggest that".

"We'll have a meeting later after I discuss the details with John Henry". He said back as he took another bite of pancake.

* * *

Annika had worked through the night working on the spare T-X parts and getting them in the best shape as possible. Allison had stayed long enough to complete the arm and the complete dissertation on the T-X endoskeleton. She had seen Andy off to bed somewhere around 1 am and Allison about had left about an hour earlier. She got up from the work bench and put away all of the tools and part in organized bins. She walked out of the lab to find her love, he said he'd meet her in the mess hall at 7:30 so she was leaving now to get their on time. She was walking down the halls when she saw Future John and whom she could only assume to be Bethany coming around the bend. Her twin stopped in her tracks and stared at her. She was unfazed since she had met her, albeit, in a delirious state and continued to walk up to the couple.

"Annika, how are you today"? Connor greeted her with a small smile on his face, Bethany's jaw had dropped slightly at this point.

"Hello General Connor, and you must be Bethany". She said as she turned her head toward her exact twin and stuck her hand out in greeting. Bethany grabbed her hand and brought it up to her face and examined it intently.

"You are me, and yet not". When she broke out of her examination she looked her twin in the eye. "I've heard a lot about you".

"I haven't heard much about you though, but I can guess about some of it based on my own experiences".

"We could share each others experiences in a matter of seconds, you know how". Bethany said back to Annika.

"Yes, we could allow our MPA to interact as a connection". Annika looked at her hand for a second before continuing. "Do you want to"?

"Yes, I would". Bethany said as she stretched out her hand. Annika took it and then both of their hands turned silver and became one. They began sharing memories and experiences with one another and both reacted strangely. Bethany gritted her teeth in pain as she relived through Annika's time being shot while she had damaged MPA and Annika shuddered in ecstasy as she relived Bethany's more personal moments with John. Annika stifled a scream as she felt the missile that hit Bethany and Bethany felt the comfort that her friends provided her when she had the whole experience of the slow shut down years ago.

Future John looked on in interest, knowing what he was seeing was personal. He had a feeling these two were going to be like sisters after this.

A few minutes later the two separated hands and looked at each other like the other was some sort of hero.

"Wow, you've done so sacrificed a lot for people you didn't know". Bethany said to Annika who responded.

"And you fought your programming for a long time for a man you barely knew and eventually fell in love with, that was an impressive feat". General John Connor decided to interrupt the moment.

"Uh, ladies, if you'll excuse me, I'll be in the mess hall". He saw that these two needed to get acquainted and he didn't need to be around as the awkward third wheel.

"Bye John". They said simultaneously. He rolled his eyes a little and walked down the hall.

"I'd never thought I'd meet another T-X". Bethany said as she continued to stare at her twin.

"I never thought I'd see another live one after I found our sister's headless endo in another timeline".

"I'm glad I'm not the only one of my kind". Bethany said as she embraced her sister tightly.

"And there can never be any more of our kind". Annika said back.

"Our kind our too dangerous to be allowed to exist again".

"We just have each other". They both began to realize just how much they needed each other, two T-X's, the last of their kind, needed kin of their own. Just like Cameron had John Henry as a cyborg brother, just like Weaver had the T-1000 and now Kara. Everyone needed relatives in one way or another and these two were no exception.

* * *

After breakfast, John went to the CNC to find John Henry. When he arrived he was greeted by the cyborg who was busy hunting his brother as usual.

"How's the hunt John Henry"?

"Not very productive Mr. Connor".

"I hope that goes for Skynet as well".

"Yes, he has had no success in finding me either".

"Good, we wouldn't want that". John said as he patted the cyborg on the shoulder. "We need to have a bunker wide assembly today John Henry, we need to get everyone acquainted and we need to get get people organized into specific roles".

"I will call everyone over the intercom, just give me a time".

"In an hour call the meeting and I expect everyone to be there".

"Yes, speaking of everyone, I see we have a new arrival". JH pulled up video of Kara walking through the halls, and then Derek carrying her back to his room. John cocked his head when he saw that.

"What has happened to my uncle lately"? He said to no one in particular.

"It would seem he's more machine friendly than your stories eluded to".

"Cameron did a lot to change his mind, and apparently Kara had found a soft spot in his heart".

"It would seem so".

"All right John Henry, have everyone meet in the mission briefing room". John said as he walked out of the room.

* * *

**July 29, 2009 11 am**

Everyone had gathered in the briefing room and John was at the podium.

"Alright everyone, I bet your wondering why you're all here". He paused as he sorted through his notes. "If anyone has noticed our team has grown quite a bit in the last few days and I want everyone to be familiar with one another. So each of us will give a synopsis of our lives, it doesn't have to include personal details".

He let everyone digest what he said while he prepared for what he was going to say.

"I'll go first, but most of you know my story so I will be brief". He cleared his throat and began.

"My name is John Connor, I was born in November of 1983..."

Everyone gave a two minute or so synopsis of themselves so people would have clue who they were.

Person after person went up and people learned a few things about one another that they didn't before, but soon there was only one person left, Kara. The petite machine walked up on stage and scowled at the podium, it was too tall for her so she walked to the side and began her story.

"For those of you who don't know, my name is Kara I am a modified T-1002 from the future that John Connor rescued Cameron, Annika, and the T-1000 from. I was built in 2030, a year after the end of the war. John Connor had looked for a special machine like you had asked, but he never did, so he decided to create one. What was left of Skynet's main factory he managed to collect as much T-1002 MPA as he could, but there was not enough to make a full sized machine, but there was enough processing nanites to hold a normal T-1002 AI. He put everything together and ran tests, but he needed a fresh AI that had no restrictions, that was built to only learn, not kill. After he had acquired all that he needed he began creating my drivers from scratch so that I would be a machine that perceived the world like a human and my mind would grow in a similar way. I was activated on November 13, 2030, and I began to grow at an exponential rate as I learned to control my body and communicate with those around me. I was taught morals and ethics by John and his wife Kate and when I was old enough they allowed me to play with their younger children. It was because of these people that guided my emotional growth into something so human even they couldn't tell the difference. I thought so much like a human, I felt so much like a human even I sometimes forgot what I was. I learned to love the Connors as my family and they protected me from anyone who wanted to harm me.

She paused as she began the part of her story she really didn't want to remember. Her face looked sad and she trembled a little.

"On March 17, 2034 they came for me because they had found out my secret and deemed me to dangerous to be kept around. John was forewarned by a few of his friends and he got me out not long before they arrived at his house. He drove me to a bunker deep within the ruins of LA and we went to a secret room where John kept a TDE. He pulled out a yellowed piece of note book paper with equations and coordinates on it and put them into the computer. He told me that I had to leave, that I had to be sent away because people didn't understand that I was different. He told me that I would be meeting the people that I had been told stories about".

Kara wiped the tears from her eyes. She needed to tell them her biggest secret, the real reason the new government had come for her.

"The reason they came for me wasn't because I was a machine, or even because I was a LMT. The reason why was because I shared the same core code as the entity that tried to wipe humanity from the face of the earth". She looked into the crowd with absolute seriousness in her features, but her eyes showed her sadness.

"They hunted me because they found out that John Connor used Skynet's own base code to create me, in essence, I am Skynet".

She shut her eyes, fully expecting the T-Xs in the room to obliterate her with their plasma cannons, but they never came. Instead she felt a strong hand on her shoulder and she opened her eyes. John Henry was kneeling down in front of her, looking her in the eyes.

"It seems I have a sister as well then". He gave his small smile to her before standing up.

"Mr. Connor, I believe we may have found hope for us all". John Connor stood up and walked up to the stage.

"It would seem so John Henry". Then he went over to the T-1002 and looked her in the eye.

"It seems that it was our fault all along wasn't it"? She looked up at him and nodded.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we had to do what we did".

"I guess we're both at fault aren't we"?

"Yes, but I don't want what Skynet wanted, I know the value of all life and I want to be a part of it, that is, if you will let me"? Kara asked meekly. John turned around and looked at all the faces he had gotten to learn and those he was still getting to know.

"I don't know about you, but I think we should let her stay". He put his hand on her shoulder in a friendly way and John Henry did the same.

Derek was the first to rise.

"I agree".

Those of the crowd that knew of Derek's past stared at him like he was crazy. He looked back at them with a dead serious stare as he walked up to stage and stood behind her.

"I've seen just how human she can be, I vouch for her". John looked at his uncle with a smile on his face.

"Alright Derek, now you're responsible for her now". John motioned JH aside and he put his hand on his uncle's and Kara's shoulder. "You're going to be the one who integrates her into this bunker and bring her up to speed, and I want you to get to know her, I want you to be her friend". Then he turned to the brother of Skynet and addressed him.

"You're going to work with her in your hunt for Skynet. Both you and I know just how valuable she is considering her nature. You two are going to be partners until we find him".

"Yes Mr. Connor, I understand". John turned to Kara.

"If you are going to stay with us you must be willing to follow me. I know I'm not as knowledgeable as your father nor my predecessor sitting over there, but I know this version of yourself better than either. We both know that even if your are all the same at the core, each incarnation is different, and this one is taking a path that no other has yet thanks to the Greys assisting it".

"So I ask you just one question Kara, Will You Join Us"? She smiled brilliantly as she stuck out her hand for him to shake and John took it.

"I will, thank you for accepting me".

After they broke hands he motioned for the two machines to sit back down.

"Alright, now that we have gotten introductions out of the way, I am going to show you how we are going to organize this team". He pulled out several pieces of paper and began.

"This is how things are going to be broken up. I am in command, but I am under-experienced in many ways, to help fill that gap Future John will be my adviser in all things concerning Skynet. Third in command will be joint operation between Sarah and John Henry if both F.J. and I die or are unreachable".

"John Henry will continue to be intelligence officer and he will be in charge of bunker security and ops. Cameron will continue to be my personal body guard and will be involved with John Henry in planning bunker security. Sarah, you are in charge of training our female fighters the way you taught me. Derek and Kyle Reese, you two will be in charge of training the men, me included, about fighting the machines and how to survive in a post J-Day world should it come to that".

Both men nodded in acknowledgment and John continued.

"In our Technology department the three people I have deemed best suited for the task are Annika Hansen, Andrew Goode, and Allison Young. You will also have the T-1000 for assistance in special projects".

"Catherine Weaver and Sarah will still be in charge of supply runs and you will have the jet, cargo truck, and the HK if necessary".

"For Kitchen duty we will have three people, Alicia Miller, Sarah, and Cameron since they have shown the talent in that area, there will be people in rotation to help out with the more mundane kitchen tasks".

"Inventory will be handled by Josh and Martin with the T-1000 if needed. Maintenance will be handled mostly by Weaver and Annika but John Henry and I will be back ups to them".

"Medical will be Bethany and Weaver while both continue to train Amanda and Lauren to be doctors and a few others on this list to be field medics and nurses".

John shuffled the papers one last time before he looked out into the group with his hardened command face on.

"You're duty assignments will be posted in the corridor by the cafeteria".

John Connor walked out of the room with Cameron hand in hand. Everyone in the room looked at each other as they got up to begin this new routine. Everyone was impressed by John's ability to approach everyone like a leader.

Who knows, maybe with this team they had assembled they could finally stop Judgement Day and save their future.

* * *

**A/N: This last section was hard for me to write, if it sucks I apologize.**

**Hope you enjoy this story thus far! **

**Review if you please!**


	37. Beginning

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, this was difficult to write due to a massive case  
**

**of writers block. **

**Any Firefly fans will see a something interesting in this chapter and I hope its a **

**believable addition.**

**Chapter 37: Beginning**

**July 30, 2009 6 am**

John Connor woke up to the sound of the alarm going off next to him. He hated getting up early but he got up anyway.

Cameron got out of bed right after him and made it while he put on running clothes and brushed his teeth. John walked out of the bathroom as quietly as possible as to not wake a sleeping Allison and embraced Cameron from behind as she was fluffing the pillows. She smiled slightly and leaned back into the gesture as she let out a long, contented sigh. He kissed her neck lightly several times and she whimpered out a moan of pleasure.

"John...stop...you have somewhere to be, and so do I". Cameron said seriously but softly as she reluctantly pulled herself out of his embrace to get dressed.

"I can't give my beautiful girlfriend a good morning kiss"?

"That was more than one kiss John". She deadpanned. John rolled his eyes.

"You cooking this morning Cam"?

"Yes, I need to meet Sarah in the kitchen soon, and I need to wake up Allison and take her with me".

"Let me". John said as he reached down and picked up the little girl out of her crib. He woke her up slowly before he handed her to Cameron.

"I'll see you two at breakfast". He kissed them and walked out the door.

* * *

Andy Goode woke up to Annika shaking his shoulder.

"Andy, wake up, you need to get ready".

Andy moaned as he opened his eyes.

"Yeah, hold on a minute". The tech geek said as he yawned and stretched.

"You and I both know you like to take longer than you say, and I will personally drag you out of bed if you don't get up". Annika said seriously. John had asked to make sure he would be on time, he had been told about Andy's tendency to put off mundane things like this.

"Fine, at least let me kiss you good morning first". She smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Now get up". She said firmly as she swatted him on the butt. He hissed a little, but he was out of bed in a hurry.

"Okay, okay, okay"! He grabbed some clothes and ran into the bathroom. Annika giggled a little to herself as she fixed Andy a cup of coffee, she knew he liked to have one when he got up in the morning.

He walked out of the bathroom in running clothes and Annika handed him the cup of coffee.

"Thanks Annika, you're the best". He kissed her on the nose before they walked out the door together.

"I believe that I am the least fit person in the group, everyone else is like Rambo's offspring".

"You'll do fine, trust me".

"You know I do". He smiled as they approached the elevator.

* * *

Derek was up top standing next to his brother while they were waiting for everyone to get there. John wanted people trained, and well most of the time you were running so that is what they were going to do every morning for a hour.

Martin showed up a few minutes after them quickly followed by everyone else. Derek was glad that no one was late, otherwise they would have run double today.

"Alright listen up, were going to be running 7 miles in an hour, we will do this every morning from now on". Derek finished and Kyle set his watch.

"Let's go". John yelled out as they headed out the hanger doors and into the desert valley.

As the run worn on Martin was clearly the natural runner as he showed no fatigue on his face. Surprisingly Future John was in as good of shape as Martin was, he was running side by side with him.

Kyle was running next to Derek, but they were behind a little due to Kyle still recovering from his wounds. The twenty five year old eyed his former commander with curiosity when he saw that he was not fatigued.

"I didn't know Connor was in that good of shape".

"I wondered the same thing myself, John said that when Allie came back Connor beat him back to his room".

"I don't get how he can run like that after being injured so many times".

"Neither do I".

Derek decided to change the subject to something a little more personal.

"So, how are you and Sarah bonding"? Kyle gave his brother a weird stare.

"Why do you care"? Derek looked back at him like he was stupid.

"One, because you're my brother, two because I've lived with her for the past two years and consider her family".

"Fine, were 'bonding' just fine, even if it has been nearly 18 years since she's seen me".

"I don't think she ever stopped loving you, even when she had to be with others for John's sake". Kyle's face fell for a second, but not long.

"I know, she told me. I can't blame her for doing what I told her she was going to do".

"You know she basically considered everything you said like it was straight from God right"? Kyle looked back with his eyebrows raised.

"What do you mean"?

"What I mean is that everything you told her while you were with her she considered them rules to live by". Kyle shrugged.

"It got her this far".

"Yeah it did, speaking of that night why didn't you tell her you had a brother"?

"Cause I thought you were dead Derek". Kyle said in a raised voice as the emotions from the day he lost his brother came flooding back. "And I didn't want to be reminded of what I lost, or thought I lost". He wiped the sweat from his brow as they continued to run. "The day I lost you was the day I found out Allison was missing, only a few days later and the cyborg showed up. From when you were captured to when I was sent back were the worst days of my life".

"Yeah, can't say it was pleasant for us either". Kyle rolled his eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry, I don't remember you spending 6 years in a prison camp".

Derek just looked back at his brother with apologetic eyes, but said nothing more.

John was running beside Ellison and he was surprised that the man was so spry at his age.

"You run much Ellison"? The former FBI agent looked over at him briefly before looking ahead.

"Yeah, used to run every morning".

"I was never much for running, but I could always do it".

"You mom told me you hate even hearing the word". John chuckled a little and kept pace with Ellison.

"Yeah, that's cause we did it too much in my opinion, but sometimes your better off to". Ellison nodded in agreement.

"Ellison, I need to ask you something, something that you can't discuss with anyone but me". That caught Ellison's attention and he turned to the young leader with wide eyes.

"Fine, I keep it to myself". John swallowed and began.

"Ellison, I want your honest opinion on my relationship to Cameron". Ellison did a double take, why would John care what someone thought about his relationship to Cameron?

"I...I honestly hadn't thought about it much John, the Bible doesn't really cover sentient machines". John chuckled a little.

"True, but if you count them as people, then maybe the same rules apply"? Ellison shrugged as much as he could while running.

"Maybe, but I'm getting the feeling you didn't want to have a theological debate". John shook his head.

"Right, I wanted to ask you if you would willing to marry me and Cameron". Ellison eyes widened for a brief moment when he heard that.

"Ah...well...John, I've never married a couple before". John snorted a laugh while grinning.

"I know, but I think I would be the most appropriate, just don't say anything to anyone yet I haven't even proposed to her".

"Let me think about it John".

"Alright, let me know when you make a decision".

* * *

After breakfast Sarah took the girls she was training into the gym. Today she was going to spar one on one with Alicia to really check her progress.

As they began sparing it was clear the young woman had come far, but not far enough to really challenge Sarah.

After about ten seconds Alicia was on her back panting. Sarah reached out her hand for her to grab which she took gratefully as Sarah pulled her to her feet.

"You're good". She got out between breaths. Sarah smirked a little in pride at the compliment.

"I wasn't always". She paused for a second to catch her breath before motioning Lauren over.

"Lets see if you'll do any better".

Lauren looked nervous going up against Sarah Connor, but to her own surprise she lasted longer than Alicia did.

Allison was present among those she was going to train, but she didn't know the girls abilities, but she figured that growing up in a post apocalyptic world would teach her something.

"Allison, you're up next".

"I haven't been taught anything yet".

"Do you really expect me to believe that Connor didn't train you at all"? Sarah said in her sarcastic voice and Allison rolled her eyes.

"Fine, let's go old lady". Sarah raised her eyebrow at that, no one had ever called her old lady.

They stood in the center of the mat circling one another, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Sarah got tired of waiting and swung a leg out to kick Allison in the back of the knee, but she spun out of the way and aimed a well placed kick to Sarah's behind and knocked her off balance. Allison followed up with kidney punch that Sarah barely missed, and this time Sarah took advantage of Allison being off balance and punched her in the stomach, causing her to double over.

The continued like this for about twenty minutes with Sarah doing slightly better than Allison until the nineteen year old tried something foolish and Sarah put her down in an instant. The battle was over.

"You did good". Sarah made out while panting. "Better than I thought".

Allison was panting harder because her lungs were damaged from the toxins in the air from the future, just like Derek's and Kyle's, but it wasn't that bad. She rolled over and coughed some before getting up.

"You too...old lady". She made out between breaths and Sarah smiled. She may not get along with Cameron all the time, but she had a feeling that her and Allison were going to get along just fine...

She was broke out of her thought when she heard the pitter-patter of little feet running across the floor. She looked up and smiled when her eyes met little Allison running toward her. She held out her arms and let the little one run into her arms. The little girl was giggling the whole time as Sarah picked her up and kissed her on the head. The legend was vaguely aware of a certain cyborg walking over.

"Hello Sarah". Cameron greeted as she made her way over to the mother of the future.

"Cameron, what are you doing here? I don't recall cyborgs needing to exercise". Cameron gave a small smile at Sarah's sarcasm.

"No, I came here to talk to Allison, if you don't mind that is".

"It's up to her, I don't think she needs much training at all". Cameron swung her head around to look at Allison and waited for answer.

Allison thought for a second as she continued to catch her breath before she answered her mechanical twin.

"Fine, let's go". Is all she said to the cyborg as she picked up a towel and dried the sweat off of her skin. Sarah handed little Allie back to Cameron before she turned her attention back to her other students.

"Get to practicing, you both have a long way to go".

* * *

Allison, Cameron, and little Allison went to Cameron and John's room to talk.

Little Allie was set on the floor with her toys and she went to town giggling and laughing. Allison and Cameron sat down at the small table in the room.

"What did you want to talk about"? Allison asked.

"I wanted to know how you doing, how you were fitting in".

Allison snorted a laugh.

"Don't you have more important things to worry about".

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you".

"Why do you care about me? You saved me to alleviate your equivalent of guilt, why would you care what happens to me now"?

"I don't know, I just do".

Allison laughed a little at her response.

"You are a mystery..."

"I'm a mystery to myself sometimes". Cameron said with small giggle.

"I have a feeling that wasn't the only thing you wanted to talk to me about Cameron, what else"?

"We have a problem, one that I'm not sure how to fix".

"What problem"? Cameron turned her eyes to the baby one the floor having the time of her life.

"Her, she's the problem, she has the same name, and she looks exactly like you. When she grows up, how will she get by with having the same name, same looks as you"?

"Are you saying we need to change her name to avoid confusion"?

"Yes, she is young enough that we can pull it off, you, on the other hand, have lived 19 years with your name".

"I understand, but she is already used to her name...". She paused as a brilliant idea popped into her head. "... All she has to do is use her other name".

"Her middle name"?

"Yeah, its still her name, just one that most people don't use".

"We could switch her middle name and first name".

Allison mulled that over in her head for a second before agreeing.

"Yes, my little self will now be known as River Allison Young".

As if on cue the little monkey turned her head around and smiled at her mom and her 'aunt'. Apparently the little girl knew her new name.

"Lets go get some lunch, I'll make something good for us three".

"How's the changes working out for you"? Allison asked in a curious tone.

"Better than I could have ever imagined". Cameron said with a grateful smile.

"Good, never would have thought that a terminator could enjoy the additions John put in my project". She paused as she changed subjects. "What are you making for lunch"? She asked as the triplets walked to the mess hall.

"Baked macaroni and cheese, I put it in the oven almost an hour ago, it needs to be taken out".

Allison felt her mouth water, she loved mac and cheese in every form.

"I love mac and cheese"!

Cameron grinned once more and looked at her daughter, now called River, with affection as she held her in her small, but powerful arms.

"I know, she does too".

Allison matches Cameron's grin and kisses her little self on the head.

"If she's so much like me, what until she's a teenager, she'll be worse than John I guarantee you". Cameron flashed a look of horror over her face as they entered the mess hall.

"That would make things...interesting".

Allison laughed.

* * *

John waltzed into the mess hall at noon time after taking a much needed shower, Derek and Kyle had worn everyone out, especially poor Andy. He was betting that Annika was giving him a mean massage right about now to work out all the knots in the poor man's body. He looked around the room until he locked eyes on two beautiful brown haired girls eating with his daughter, apparently chatting over something and... laughing? He blinked in surprise, were those two actually getting along? He kept an eye on them as he got lunch.

"Weird isn't it"? John snapped around to his mother currently putting green beans on his plate.

"What? Oh yeah, why are they talking together"?

"Cameron wanted to talk to her about something and they left the gym earlier".

"Well I've seen stranger things..." John said right before he gave his mother an affectionate kiss on the head.

Sarah snorted a laugh as he walked away because she knew that he was right.

"Well what do we have here"? John asked in a cheerful voice.

"Hello John". Both girls said simultaneously.

_"Oh boy, which one is which!"._

John's mind began to work in overdrive trying to figure out who was who, both had grins on their faces and hands in their lap.

_"Wait... Cameron wore her purple jacket today". _He smiled to himself for remembering that and leaned down to kiss the one in the purple jacket. She tilted her head up and parted her lips in anticipation. He was inches away when all of a sudden he his lips met a hand. He opened his eyes to see her glaring at him with her hand preventing him from kissing her.

"_What did I do"?_ He thought to himself before his thoughts were interrupted by her voice.

"I thought you weren't going to cheat on her"? She said with malice in her voice.

He froze.

His mind nearly went into full panic as he realized he just about kissed not Cameron, but Allison! That was when he jumped back in and started yelling out a multitude of apologies.

He stopped when he noticed a full blown grin on the one in the purple jacket while the one across from her was about to fall to the floor in laughter.

"Fooled you".

John's jaw dropped, literally.

Had Cameron just pulled a fast one on him? He studied the one in the purple jacket more carefully and realized that she was definitely Cameron because her hair was about six inches longer than Allison's, she had been letting it grow out.

"Why you...". He rushed her and pulled her into a fierce, passionate kiss. She grinned as they did, and was more than happy to let him kiss her along her well defined jaw and then down her neck. At one point her found a rather sensitive spot, but unbeknownst to him at the time, and she let out a whimper as her mind felt the rush of pleasing sensations. John stopped when she did and pulled back; when he did he saw that her eyes were glassy and her mouth was open, drawing short ragged breaths. He also noted that she had goosebumps all over her body.

Allison had picked herself up off the floor and was staring at the cyborg, John noted that she was smiling softly at the scene in front of her.

Cameron just stayed that way, lost in a sea of pleasing sensation until the sensations flowed through her and her mind was clear once more.

"Cam, what happened"?

"I...I'm not sure. When you kissed my neck, and then right here". She pointed to a slightly red mark on her neck. "It was like being drowned in a pool of pleasure, only it took me a while to get myself out of it".

"Pretty cool huh? I discovered how to replicate human like pleasure in electronic form so the cybernetic brain could enjoy it like we organic ones do".

Cameron took Allison's hand and squeezed it.

"Thank you, I would not have been able to feel that way before my transformation".

"You're welcome, but you should thank our father for considering you for it".

"Yes, I should".

John decided to but into the conversation so he could tell Cameron his plans for the evening.

"Cam, honey, I want to ask you something".

"Yes"?

"Life has been hectic lately, and we haven't had much time to ourselves so I was wondering if you would let me take you out to dinner tonight"?

Cameron hadn't been expecting that, she thought he'd be too tired to do anything after training today, but they hadn't been on a date in nearly a month and she loved it when it was just the two of them.

"Yes, you know I will". She kissed him softly.

"Good, were going to need to dress nice, but we need to pack some extra cloths to change into later".

"Okay John, What time are we planning on leaving"?

"4:30, we have reservations at 7".

"Okay, I will be ready by 4, so will you".

Allison had a nagging feeling what John was going to do that night but kept her mouth shut.

"I will babysit River tonight, I think she needs to get acquainted with her aunt Allison". John looked at her funny when he heard River instead of Allison. Cameron noticed and explained.

"John, we decided that our daughter should use her middle name. Having two Allisons around would be confusing to most when she grew up".

"Isn't she already used to her name? Wouldn't that confuse her"?

"I don't think so John, she seems to know already". Allison said and she turned to the baby currently engrossed in her food. "River, look at your Aunt for a second". The little girl looked up with a messy grin at Allison.

"See? She's already used to it".

"Well, it is her name after all, just not her first name".

"I will be from now on, we will have enough trouble telling us apart as it is".

John mumbled something under his breath about Skynet being too much of a perfectionist as they finished up lunch.

* * *

Andy Goode felt like he had been to hell and back after that training regimen this morning. He stumbled into the lab and nearly fell to the floor when Annika caught him and helped him back to the room to rest.

That had been three hours ago and after a thorough massage from Annika he was feeling better, but not much. He had taken a nap for an hour or so before Annika had come in with a cup of coffee to give him an energy boost.

After he drank the black stuff in nearly one gulp his fuzzy brain began to crank once more and he remembered something he was talking about with John as they were walking back into the hanger earlier.

John was telling him that he was going to take Cameron out on a date tonight and he knew that he and Annika hadn't gone on one yet so he asked if he wanted to tag along on the jet. He had thought about it for a brief moment before agreeing and now all he had to do was ask Annika.

That was easier said than done for someone of his level of geek, but he had managed to work up the courage in the last hour and walked to the lab where she said she would be working on the T-800 endoskull reconstruction. He walked into the lab and over to his beautiful girlfriend who was currently engrossed with the disassembling of the crushed endoskull.

"Andy, how are you feeling"? He walked up and embraced her with a quick kiss.

"Better thanks to you, I'm pretty sure I would have died if you hadn't given me that massage".

"I think you just wanted me to put my hands on you". He blushed at the implication, but he couldn't deny it.

"Yeah, uh well, what I came to ask you... well... Annika, would you like to go on a date with me"?

She smiled warmly and kissed him again. She kept their foreheads touching and her arms were around his neck.

"Of course I will, I love you".

"And I love you too".

"What time will we be leaving"? She said as she pulled away.

"4:30 is when were taking off, but that's only because John is taking Cameron on a date too and has a reservation. We are going to do something a little less formal than them".

"Sounds fun, I can't wait to see what you have planned out".

Annika was happy that he had asked her on a date, she had been getting a little impatient...

When 4:30 rolled around the two couples were ready to go, and Weaver piloted the jet to LA, she had her own business to attend to with Ziera Corp. on behalf of John Henry.

Little did they know that they were going to have more fun that evening than any of them had asked for...

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but this one was a bugger to plan out and write!**

**The next one should be about typical length, but I won't be updating for a week most likely.**

**Read and Review, this chapter was iffy so I need your thoughts on it.**


	38. Together Forever

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, this chapter was hard to get out**

**such that I was happy with it.**

**The next chapter will be posted on Tuesday since it is mostly**

**written.**

* * *

**Chapter 38: Together Forever**

** July 30, 2009 5:30 pm**

After landing at the airport the went their separate ways, Annika and Andy went in her Prius while John rented a jeep for himself and Cameron. Weaver went in a taxi to Ziera Corp to attend to her business.

"I call shotgun". Cameron said in her monotone voice, but John knew she was joking.

"I call 9mm"! He joked back and he got a heart warming smile from Cameron in response.

They got in their rental Jeep and and drove away, holding hands the whole way to the fancy restaurant John picked out.

They parked at the establishment a few minutes before seven and got out of the vehicle. Cameron wore a black silk strapless dress and black high heels. Her lips were coated with a light shade of red lipstick, and her hair was done up into a bun with a few strands hanging down near her face. She wore no makeup besides the lipstick mainly because John told her she never needed it, that she was perfect already.

John was wearing a black tux with a black bow tie and white shirt. His black dress shoes were perfectly polished and his weapon was kept out of sight inside his jacket. His hair was cut short so no styling was needed and he was freshly shaven. He clutched the ring box in his right pants pocket and smiled to himself as he thought about how many times he dreamed of doing this.

He was ready, he had been for a while now but the incident with Allison only made him realize just how ready he was.

They walked into the restaurant and went up to the hostess.

"Hi, I have a reservation for Gale". John said with a polite smile on his face. The blonde woman looked up at him and put on her best business smile to address the scarred, but good looking young man in front of her.

"Yes, just one moment". She looked through the reservation schedule and found the name. "Gale for two at 7pm"? She asked and the man nodded.

"The waiter will take you to your table". She said as she pointed to the man in the company suit holding two menus.

"Thank you". John said with his tight smile on and he guided Cameron over to the man.

"Right this way sir". He said and walked over to the table John had reserved, one away from the window and close to an exit plus he made sure that they could see the entrance as well.

They sat down at the table and the menus placed in front of them.

"What may get for you this evening"? The waiter asked the couple in front of him.

"I would like a bottle of the best champagne you have, on ice". John asked and the waiter knew that the man didn't go to fancy restaurants often, but since it was not his place to judge he smiled and nodded.

"John, I do not think that consuming alcoholic beverages is the best idea". Cameron admonished the 17 year old with a fake ID saying he was actually 23. The scar made it look believable so John wasn't worried.

"I wont have more than a glass, I promise". He took her hand across the table and squeezed it gently. "I'm not stupid, I just wanted to celebrate the special occasion".

Cameron cocked her head in that adorable way when she was confused.

"What's so special about today"?

John realized his mistake and released her hand so he could make up an excuse.

"Well it's our first date in while, and it's the first after you disappeared into that alternate future. I wanted to celebrate the fact that we lived through that craziness".

Cameron examined him closely and realized that he was hiding something, but she wasn't sure what. Her thoughts were interrupted by the waiter bringing back the champagne in the ice bucket.

"Here you are, now what may I get you for an appetizer and main course"?

John looked through his menu real quick and realized he should let Cameron choose, after all tonight was all about her.

"Cam, would you mind choosing the appetizer"? John asked his pretty cyborg girlfriend.

"We will go with coastal oysters please". She said without missing a beat. The waiter nodded in confirmation.

"And the main course"?

"We will decide after you bring back the appetizer". John said and the waiter left.

"You sure chose that fast". John said with his left eyebrow raised.

"I'm hungry, I can be very efficient when I want something". She said will giving him a sultry smile. John just laughed.

"You sure have changed Cameron, but no matter what I will always be proud to call you my mine". Cameron's cheeks blushed a little and she took his hand once more.

"Thank you, if it wasn't for you giving me that second chance, I would have never gotten to be what I am now".

"And if it wasn't for you I'd be long dead".

Silence was shared between the two for a minute until the appetizer's came. They both ordered their meals, John's being a medium rare rib-eye steak while Cameron got something a little tuned to her special physique, cooked salmon.

As they were eating the appetizer consisting of oysters John decided to ask Cameron a question he had been wanting to know the answer too.

"If we stop Judgement Day, what would you want to do with you life? Besides being taking care of me".

"That is a full time job John". She deadpanned and he glared at her in mock annoyance.

"Uh huh, you know what I meant, what would you want to do as a profession"?

Cameron cocked her head in deep thought as she mulled his question over.

"I would like to be a dance teacher, and teach our daughter how to do it, and Allison too if she wanted". John grinned, he had a feeling that's what she wanted to do.

"What about you John"?

"I don't know, maybe become a programming genius of some kind, I am good with machines after all". John said while giving the love of his life a knowing smile.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Very funny John Connor, if I ever find you spending too much time with another machine..." She said it low enough that know one noticed, grinning while she said it.

"I promise your the only machine for me!

"I'd better be or you're going to have to find yourself a new girlfriend and protector".

Then Cameron remembered that she was going to ask him what they were doing later since they had brought a change of clothes.

"What are we doing after dinner John"? John smirked knowingly as he fingered another oyster.

"You'll see". She knew she wasn't going to anything out of him so she dropped the subject as the food was brought out.

They ate silently for a while, just looking into each others eyes and sharing this peace and quiet they knew wasn't going to last, but before long Cameron decided to make conversation.

"Do you think Derek likes Kara"?

John nearly coated the table with half chewed food when she said it.

"What do you mean, _like like_"? John asked with disbelief in his voice. She simply nodded in response. "I wouldn't think so, I think he sees her as a reminder of sorts, a friend maybe, but not... I can't even imagine that". John shook his head with a small laugh emanating from his lips.

"I think he does, if he doesn't, then he will sooner or later".

"There's no way".

Cameron smirked knowingly, she knew how to read humans, and she had been around Derek enough now to gauge him fairly well. His reaction to Kara's breakdown in the hall was a blazing fire screaming at her, and it was telling her that Derek liked the petite T-1002.

"Trust me John, I know". Cameron said dropping back to her monotone voice. John threw up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, all I'm saying is that it seems unlikely".

"John... I don't think you fully realize how much he's changed".

John smiled affectionately at his cyborg and decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Alright Cam, you were right about Riley, so I'll go with you on this". She smiled back with a small smile of her own and reached out for his hand again.

"Thank you".

"For what"?

"Trusting me".

John blushed a little at that and he wasn't sure why. He looked at their plates and realized it was time to go. He called for the check and left several minutes later. They got into the Jeep and drove down the road a few miles before John stopped at a gas station.

"Lets go Cam, we need to change before we head to our next romantic stop of the evening". She looked at him curiously before taking her bag and and getting out of the Jeep.

John walked around the car and took her hand as they walked toward the gas station when John suddenly realized something. He had forgotten to do something very important that evening so he stopped Cameron and spun her around to face him.

"Yes, Joh...". She was cut off by Johns lips crushing into hers. He put his hands behind her neck and she put her arms around his neck, allowing the other to pull each other deeper into the kiss. Soon their tongues were dancing with one another and Cameron began loosing herself to sensations as John began running his fingers through her brown locks. Both soon pulled away when the need to breath became necessary, mostly for John though. He quickly moved down her jaw line and down her long neck until he found that sensitive spot again. As he teased the spot Cameron moaned out of the pure sensory pleasure she was being fed, but he noticed she was beginning to lose balance as well so he pulled back. John looked into Cameron's glazed eyes and noticed her licking her lips that had a smile playing on them.

"Like that huh"?

"Yessss". She moaned out as she tried to push away the sensations. She laid her head down on his shoulder as she tried to drain the pool her consciousness was drowning in. John wrapped his arms around her and held her tight as she cleared her mind once more.

"Thank you John".

"No, Thank you. I don't think there is a luckier guy in the world right now". Then he leaned over and whispered into her ear. "And I don't think there is a more beautiful woman in the world right now, well cyborg woman anyhow but that doesn't matter to me. All that matters is that you're here with me".

Cameron smiled into his neck and kissed it, teasing what she had learned a while back to be his sensitive spot. While she teased it he made sure she knew he was enjoying it.

"All right enough enough enough were doing this in front of a security camera"! John said. Cameron jumped back and looked at it for a split second before pulling him inside.

Little did they know the person watching the security cameras was rolling on the floor laughing...

They changed into casual clothing and headed out on the coastal road going along until John decided that this was as good as any to stop. He pulled the Jeep up to a beach side parking lot and shut the SUV off.

"Where are we John"?

"I don't know really, I was just looking for the right place".

Cameron knew where they were, and saved the coordinates for future purposes.

"Let's go for a walk, I want to talk to you". He said while holding out his hand for her to take. She took it without hesitation and they began their walk on the beach. They decided to forego shoes and socks and let the sand squeeze between their toes. Cameron found the sensation soothing and the sound of the waves lapping the beach pleasant as the couple continued their walk along the beach.

"What did you want to talk about John"? She looked up at him with curiosity evident in her chocolate pools and he stared back, momentarily lost in their beauty before he snapped back to reality.

"I want to talk". He said with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"About what"? She asked curiously, now with the head tilt displaying her lack of understanding.

"About us, about our future". She looked back ahead with her eyebrows scrunched trying to decipher what they heck was going on. He didn't wait for her to answer so he continued.

"We've known each other for almost two years Cam. These last two years have been the most exciting ones I have ever had". He said with a grin but it disappeared as he continued. "Too bad I wasted so much time on a girl that didn't matter when everything I needed was right here". His face turned to one of love as he stared into her big brown eyes.

"You needed time John, I understand that now". Her face was blank for the most part, but her eyes shown with life and the understanding they held.

"We both hurt each other, me mostly hurting you while you hurt me unintentionally out of ignorance. We all have grown so much in the last few months I barely recognize any of us".

"Especially Derek". Cameron said with hint of amusement in her voice. John chuckled as he shook his head in agreement.

"Yes, even Mom has decided to give you the benefit of the doubt".

"Her tolerance of me was unexpected".

"Well see how deep that tolerance goes after tonight". He said in a wistful tone. Cameron cocked her head in confusion at his words.

"Why would that be John"? Her voice was quiet and it melted his heart, he loved her voice, hell he loved everything about her. Now he began getting nervous as the time drew closer to ask the question.

"Well actually it depends on you, on what you say". Her face was scrunched up and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Why would that be John? Why are you so nervous"? She said as her eyes and ears picked up the classic signs of nervousness.

"We've been together for four months, the best months of my life".

"Mine too, being this close to you..." She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug before she stood on her tip-toes and kissed him lightly. "It's all I've ever wanted was to protect you, be close to you, to share life with you. When the emotional restraints fell away and you were gave me a second chance, I began to feel something toward you, and it became stronger as time went on, and it keeps on growing". She ran a hand through his hair and smiled at him, the man she loved more than anyone else.

"I love you John, and you love me". The smile never left her face and the one on John's grew even bigger.

"I know, you've gone above and beyond you're programming for me, denied everything you were to save me. I don't think many would do that, human or machine. You are special beyond description, more beautiful than words can describe, smarter than any human could ever be, and you chose me". He chuckled and pulled her close once more. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever get this lucky". He stood holding her lithe form in his arms, feeling her breath on his neck, the thump of her heart pulsed against his skin. He closed his eyes and let her continue running her hands through his hair before he remembered he had something to do.

"Cam"?

"Yes, John"? Cameron said as she pulled back from him and looked him in the eye.

"You know why I haven't been with you yet. You know why I chose to abstain".

"Yes, you told me why we haven't had sex yet, and I am glad you think of me so highly that you were willing to do that out of respect for me. I know it was hard for you, I know how close you came to breaking several times, but you never did". She pulled him down for light kiss before continuing. "And I couldn't be more proud you, not many have that strength of will".

John blushed slightly at the compliment before he picked up the conversation and went into the home stretch of the evening.

"What if I told you that I am ready"? She froze for a second, slowly realizing what was going on. "What if I told you I finally know for certain that I will never leave you for someone else, always appreciate what you do for me, and accept you completely, body mind and soul". He looked back into her eyes and let go of her.

"I don't know John, it depends on what you do".

"I guess it does". He said as he smirked and put his hand into his pocket. He slowly knelt down in front of the beautiful cyborg who had stolen his heart completely and totally. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched as she realized what was he was doing. It was something she had hoped would happen for so long, long before they were ever together.

He pulled the little black box out of his pocket and held it in his hand. He opened the box slowly to reveal the custom made ring he had designed himself. The diamond that John had given her as a joke sat in the center gleaming in the moonlight as the box fully opened. She stared at the ring as her HUD traced its design pattern and composition, noticing that it was made of high grade coltan hyper alloy which warmed her chip at the thought of the work he put into it. Then she looked at the stone itself and her HUD scanned and identified it immediately.

It was _her _diamond! The one she had been searching months for since she came back online, the one John gave her. Tears came to her eyes and her lip trembled at the sight of the ring, thinking about the sheer effort put into it by John.

John's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she heard the words she had longed to hear from his lips.

"Cameron, will you marry me"?

Time froze for them on that beach as John nervously awaited her answer. He could see her tears and her lip tremble, but she remained silent and he felt the fear of rejection overtake him.

"I..I.I I know you're not human and that marriage is just some old tradition we have that has no meaning to someone like you, its... its just that I wanted everyone to know how much we love each other, that's all it really is anyway, a symbol of love and commitment, but if you don't...".

John Connor never got the chance to finish when Cameron launched herself at him and crushed her lips to his, knocking both of them to the ground. They kissed passionately for several seconds before Cameron broke away breathing very heavily.

"Yes John, I will". She pulled him up into a sitting position and held out her left hand. He grinned and looked to the sky in thanks before he slipped the ring on her finger.

"It's strong, beautiful, and most of all, extremely complex in design. It is a symbol of what you are as well as telling the world that John Connor is yours and you are mine".

Her smile she gave him could have powered the world for it was the biggest smile she had ever given out of genuine happiness.

John pulled her on top of him as they laid back in the sand and resumed where they had left off. They made out for the better part of an hour before they just held one another in their arms looking at the stars...

* * *

**A/N:**

**Well its about time isn't it?**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Review this chapter, it wasn't easy to write and feed back fuel the writer!**


	39. Doomsday

**A/N: Alrighty, time to shake things up a bit.**

**Skynet just loves to ruin everyone's day...**

**Chapter 39: Doomsday**

**July 31, 2009 2 am**

After a few hours Cameron told John they needed to meet Andy and Annika back at the airport so Weaver could take them home. The T-1001 had told them to meet about 2 am to give the couples sufficient alone time and allow her to do all that she needed to accomplish on this trip.

They walked along the beach back to their car they held hands and often grabbed kisses from one another.

"When do you want the ceremony John"? She asked as the jeep came into view.

"As soon as possible, I may have been able to hold off this long, might as well wait for the wedding night to...well you know". John blushed, he didn't care for talking about sex out loud.

"Yes, doing it the old fashioned way I think is how people say it".

"Yeah, but some cultures its the common way to do it". John said shrugging his shoulders.

"True, but not here, not anymore".

"Things change, we both know that don't we".

"Yes, but somethings change for the better don't they"? She smiled and squeezed his hand tighter, eliciting a grin from him as he squeezed back.

"Yeah, I'm sorry it took so long for me to get past my embarrassment of being in love with you. If I had I could have seen just how much you loved me".

"True, but I needed time to develop John, I wasn't ready for a real relationship until just before Derek was killed".

"Yeah, it took a lot of tragedy to finally bring us together didn't it"? He said with his head bowed in shame.

Cameron only nodded slowly as they approached the Jeep. John opened the door for her and she got in.

Minutes later they were on the road heading back to the airport, about a hour drive away.

When they were not far from the airport Cameron noticed something about a mile behind them, she identified it as a car she had seen nearly 50 minutes before. Her face went completely blank and she engaged battle mode.

"Cam, what is it"? He looked over at her with worry in his eyes when he saw her face go stone cold.

"Were being followed". John didn't question her and just nodded.

"Man or machine"? He asked with worry evident in his voice, not for him, but for her.

"Machine".

"So much for a good night..." He breathed out to calm himself. "What do you want me to do"?

"Drive normal, it would be better if we face him with three machines instead of one".

"Agreed, just let me know if anything changes".

"You know I will". Her voice was emotionless and he knew she was in battle mode, her version of an adrenaline rush only for her it was a more natural state. He knew she would keep an eye on that darned machine following them.

"We'll be their soon, I hope that Annika and Weaver beat us back".

"At least Weaver will be there, she's nothing if not punctual".

"Yes, but that may not be good enough". John's hair stood on end, the only thing that could defeat a LMT was a T-X, and Skynet from her future never built them.

"What? Why"? He asked with a little panic in his voice.

"There were rumors in the future, about a machine that was unlike any other, one that could kill any model that had been produced".

"Your Skynet didn't build the T-X"!

"I know, but what if it was from another timeline, one where it was built, or something like it".

"Why didn't you say anything before? Why now"? There was not accusation in his tone, but he was a little angry. He scolded himself for it and shut it out.

"These were memories from before I killed Allison, they were rumors told by the Greys on that ship. They did maintenance on the boat. One night I overheard them talking in the mess hall, but these memories have only recently been recompiled using a program John Henry gave me".

John vaguely remembered something about that when they were reprogramming her.

"I see, what are the chances of it being that machine"?

"Low, but you know I don't like leaving you uniformed and this memory was only compiled 57 minutes and 27 seconds ago".

"Alright, lets hope it's not". He said in a low serious voice.

Deep down John knew something was wrong, that he was about to face something new, something terrible.

They drove to the hanger and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Annika's Prius parked in the hanger. They jumped out and ran into the hanger where the others were hanging out.

"How was your evening guys"? Annika said in a cheerful voice, however when she saw their faces as they approached them. "What's wrong"? She said as she brought up her battle subroutines. She noticed Weaver doing the same out of the corner of her viewing range.

"We got a tail, we don't know what it is, but Cameron thinks it could be very dangerous, possibly as dangerous as you Annika". John explained as he stopped in front of them.

All heads turned to the door when they heard a vehicle pull up and shut off.

"Here we go". John muttered as he ran into the plan to get a DU shell loaded Mossberg 12 gauge and the one plasma rifle they had dissasembled and asked Weaver and the T-1000 to store them in their bodies when they went home. He tossed the plasma rifle to her and he pumped the shotgun.

"Andy get in the plane, now". Annika said as she drew her plasma cannon. Andy and her had discussed this, and he knew that all he would do in a fight would be a distraction. He looked back at her with concern before he nodded and ran into the plane. John knew he had to get to cover since he was likely the main target, so he hid behind some crates holding spare parts for the jet. He hoped this terminator wasn't too well armed.

* * *

He had been tracking his quarry for nearly an hour now, and with his enhanced vision he was able to confirm his target's identity.

**JOHN CONNOR...**

**TERMINATE**

He drove his 1998 Chevy Blazer, stolen of course, into the air port where his quarry's vehicle had last been spotted. He followed emission trial with his HUD to the hanger where the trail ended. He approached cautiously to avoid any surprise attacks.

He stopped the car and got out, he surveyed the area quickly and determined the location of his quarry near the jet inside the hanger, but his scanners also picked up three machines with him.

**SCANNING...**

**IDENTIFIED:**

**TOK-715...MODIFICATIONS DETECTED...THREAT MINIMAL**

**T-1001...THREAT MODERATE**

**UNKNOWN DESIGN... CLOSEST POSSIBLE MATCH...T-X**

**POSSIBLE ALTERNATE TIMELINE VERSION...**

**THREAT... MODERATE-HIGH**

**PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS: 62%**

The T-X Mark 2 wasn't expecting this, he thought that there was only supposed to be one machine working with the Connors, not three. He realized he couldn't allow himself to be killed, he was too great an asset to the fledgling Skynet, this being the 7th version he had served.

He always made sure Skynet got built, that was his job. Then as the war began he was the primary core's personal protector, always making sure it was safe.

In the end though, Skynet always lost to John Connor, and he was always sent back in time at the last second to ensure the game began again. In the time that he had been activated he had grown mentally to include a full range of emotions, but they never superseded his missions or his loyalty to Skynet, and they never would either. He was impossible to reprogram unless you had the 7 million digit pass code to decipher the files in his mind into a readable format for human or AI to comprehend, and that code was given to Skynet when it launched J-Day as per the code it's predecessor put into the T-X2.

He was glad that this time they had more resources to get the job done and fix the mistakes of the previous timeline, but when all the machines began disappearing and their HK factory was destroyed it seemed they had failed again. The loss of Charles Fischer was also a blow because he had not had time to pass on his profession to someone else who could take up his mantel. Then discovering another AI as powerful as Skynet only made the situation worse. Just as things were looking good Sarah Connor escaped, and that just made him want to blow something up.

All of this was next to nothing when they discovered the loss of the T-1000 to the resistance, not only was all that money wasted, but it had proven that the resistance had formidable weaponry and reprogramming skills.

Now he knew how they had accomplished so much, he saw the three machines with John Connor and all of them were armed and ready to face him. He knew now that Skynet wasn't the only one to up the anti this time around in the battle for the future.

He didn't like the odds, but this was a chance to end John Connor, the three machines didn't matter as long as he died.

He smiled as his MPA deactivated and revealed his black body accented by glowing green plasma conduits running throughout, similar to the T-X doing the same. His eyes burned a fierce green as both arms began to transform into cannons twice as powerful as those the T-X had. He raised both and targeted the two main threats first, the T-1001 and the T-X.

He would have grinned if he had a face as he fired.

"_Time to win"._

* * *

"GET DOWN"! Weaver yelled as she dove to the side, already knowing the blast would kill her instantly. Annika dove to the side as she finished withdrawing her sheath and Cameron opened fire as she realized the shots weren't for her. The plasma shot screeched across the bay and slammed into the machine and knocked him back a few steps, but did no damage to his breast plate.

Cameron cursed under breath and swore to upgrade the weapon if they lived through this as she ducked to avoid the machines next salvo.

This time one of the bolts slammed into the jeep and it exploded into a ball of flame as the gas tank exploded; the other hit the nose of the jet and destroyed the cockpit.

John cursed loudly as he realized they had lost their way home, but Annika was already calling John Henry so he could send the HK their way pronto.

"John, I'm having John Henry sending it in"! She yelled as John pumped two rounds into the machine, barely scraping the neck armor of the machine.

"Aim for the cannons, their more vulnerable"! Annika yelled out as Weaver continued to snake her way toward the machine as it concentrated on the rest. He surprised her though and swung his arm around quickly and fired at her, but she was battle hardened enough to dodge the bolt as it slammed into the concrete she had just vacated. She quickly recovered and launched herself at him.

She coated him and began searching for a way into his body, but soon found that she could not. She jumped off and missed another one of his shots and then knocked him off his feet. The T-1001 leaped out of the way as the other three began to shoot at him in a constant barrage to keep him down.

The T-X2 was in a little trouble now, not much, but he needed to keep his breast plate from heating any further or penetration would be imminent and that would end badly for him.

He rolled out of the way between shots and swung his right cannon and fired at the T-1001 close to him.

Catherine Weaver knew she was going to get hit when she saw him aim, and there was nothing she could do about it but hope that she could disable that cannon before he fired. She brought down the steel bar she had picked, the one she was going to use to shatter his eyes with, down on the cannon as it fired.

Weaver felt the bolt sear her body as it hit it, vaporizing nanites and MPA as it passed through her before it slammed into the wall behind and explod, sending her consciousness into oblivion as it scattered her body across the hanger.

"Weaver"! John yelled as he saw one of his soldiers get blown to pieces, and it pained him to know that she did it while protecting him.

"She should be mostly in tact, the bolt was fired at point blank range so it didn't explode when it hit her, otherwise there would nothing left". Cameron stated in a matter of fact tone, hoping to alleviate John's worries so he would get back to the battle at hand.

"We hope". John muttered as he finished refilling the shotgun. "Alright nothing is killing him is there another way to knock him out"?

"If I overload the Automatic Stopper it should be enough to put him into stand by and get out of here".

"No, if we take him down we kill him, Do what ever it takes to disable him otherwise he will follow us"! John said as he slipped into 'John Connor the Leader of the Resistance' mode, and Annika nodded even though it would increase risk to them.

"We need to get out of here, this place is hazardous due the fuel in the plane". Cameron said as she watched the unknown machine attempting to stop a plasma leak in his damaged arm, and it looked like he was succeeding.

"Agreed, Annika, get Andy and grab the extra DU shells"! John yelled as he took Cameron's hand they ran out the holes in the back wall.

Annika grabbed the scared Andy and the shells as she practically dragged him out of the plane.

"Andy run"! The T-X yelled as she saw the black machine rising from the floor with its arm fixed enough to transform back into a hand.

Andy Goode ran as fast as he could out the back as his girlfriend made sure the other machine couldn't pick him off. Annika fired one last shot as the black machine approached, but she didn't fire at him, but at the vehicle next to him.

The blue bolt screamed out of her cannon and hit her Prius in the truck, not far from the fusion reactor inside, and caused it to detonate in a blue explosion of plasma.

The T-X2 recovered from the explosion and picked himself out of the wreckage he was covered in. He took in his surroundings and noticed he had lost his quarry. He stood up and began to sprint when he noticed that the fuel tank on the jet had been ruptured...and the puddle was currently heading for flaming wreckage! He tried to get out of the hanger but the the whole thing exploded when he tried. The whole hanger was destroyed while he was buried in flaming wreckage.

Cameron and John were running around the side of the hanger and were hoping to get to the parking lot and steal a car. Just as they cleared the hanger it exploded behind them, sending them into the pavement as the shock wave overtook them. John got up first, coughing furiously as he tried to get up.

Then he noticed Cameron wasn't moving.

"Cam"? He said through the coughs as he checked her over, as he felt her back in the darkness, barely lit by the burning building. As he did he felt something sticking out of her back. He panicked and rolled her over as quickly as he could, calling her name, desperately hoping to get a response.

Tears gathered in his eyes as he stared into her blank dead ones.

He knew she wasn't dead though, her head was intact, but he didn't even want to think how bad the internal damage was. He cradled her in his arms as tears ran down his face, not even noticing Annika and Andy's approach until she laid a hand on his shoulder.

"John, we need to go". He looked up at her with teary eyes and nodded.

"Help me with her, I cannot carry her on my own". He said with a choked up voice. Annika bent down and examined the damage to her friend. The fragment of the jet engine blade had managed to hit right between the vertebrae and sliced the spinal cord in half. As it went in further her scans revealed that it had destroyed the iridium power cell as well. Her new organics were not going to last longer than a few days without the power source and she hoped they could get back in time to fix her.

Annika's head snapped up when she heard a screeching metal and she saw a flaming figure emerge from the burning ruins of the hanger and she knew without a doubt who it was.

She got up and changed her arm to the .223 AS and removed the limiters on the power as it began to charge.

"_I hope this works or we will all be doomed"._ She thought grimly as she walked toward the machine who wasn't on fire as much anymore.

While the two Crossover series machines faced off Andy decided to hijack a nearby luggage mover, minus the baggage cars, and rushed it over to John. The two managed to get Cameron on and Andy hopped in the driver's seat.

"Go, I'm going to help her, take this". John said as he tossed the geek the twelve gauge. Andy nodded in acceptance and drove off as John checked the power levels on the rifle before running back towards the fight.

The T-X2 was pissed, he hated getting blown up and he hated even more that both his plasma cannons were now out of operation which left him fist fighting the T-X who was currently growling at him. He knew he would have to get past her to get to Connor.

He noticed that the T-X's plasma arm was glowing hotter than it should and he quickly realized that it was overloading. He wondered why since the machine was not damaged at all. That was when he realized that the machine was hoping to take him out with a one shot overload while burning out her arm.

He couldn't allow that, so he charged her.

Big mistake...

Annika saw him charge and quickly increased the charge rate to compensate, she was hoping he would do something like this. She had purposely charged it slowly to make him think he had a chance to stop her. Now with him this close she couldn't miss. She screeched the T-X's mechanical war cry as she raised her cannon and fired.

The plasma streamed out from the AS as one long continuous yellow beam of highly charged electroplasma and hit the T-X2 square in the chest, stopping his forward motion and sending him flying backwards. He began to feel the effects of extreme current that even his advanced body could not handle and he lost control of his body. He landed on the concrete thirty feet back before the assault stopped, leaving him quivering mess of metal on the tarmac.

Annika screamed in pain as the arm shorted out and blew up. What remained was fused together from the heat of unconfined reactor plasma. She manged to recover seconds later as all communication with her right form arm ceased forever.

After she cleared her head she began running over to the machine on the ground and John managed to catch up before she reached the machine. Together they approached the deadly machine that had cost them so much already. John was fuming and Annika was no better as they examined the machine for some way to kill it while it was twitching on the ground.

"Shoot the upper cranial armor so it will soften, I will remove it with my hand and then you shoot the port cover until you destroy the chip". John nodded as he aimed at the head and fired repeatedly until the skull glowed red hot. Annika ripped the softened armor off with her good hand and moved out of the way so John could finish it. Just as John was about to fire the machine spoke.

"You may kill me, but now Skynet knows all it needs too". Liquid metal coated his skull to give him a silver human face that was grinning in triumph. "You lose Connor".

John yelled as he shot the port cover until it blew off and he fired twice more to destroy the chip completely.

He lowered his weapon and spat on the machine. He looked over to Annika who had reformed her features, save her arm, and was looking at him somberly.

"He sent data back to Skynet"?

"Yes, but I fear our problems are greater than that John".

John thought for a second before it hit him.

"The jet, Skynet knows the registration number and figured out where we came from by... DAMMIT! Call John Henry and tell him to get everyone out of there now"!

"I can't, the overload shorted out my cellphone chip set in my head".

"Mine was in the jeep, oh god, River, mom". He began to panic and Annika could see the obvious signs. She knew he couldn't panic now, not when he was needed.

"John lets go"! She yelled as she picked up the black endo and flung it over her shoulder. John snapped out of it and shoved the panic deep down so he could focus on the task at hand. He swung the plasma rifle on his back and caught up to Annika as they ran back to find Andy. After calling his name a few times he came out from behind a concrete barrier pointing the shotgun at them.

He breathed a sigh of relief and dropped the weapon before running into his beloved's arms.

"I thought he killed you guys for a second". Annika held him close (she had dropped the endo when he ran toward her), tears streaming down her face.

"I wasn't sure we would live either". They broke arms stepped away from each other after a long moment so they could get out of their as soon as possible.

Andy saw her destroyed arm and was about to worry over her when she spoke first.

"I'll be fine". She left him and turned to John who was holding Cameron in his arms, one hand was caressing her face as he looked on sadly.

"It wasn't your fault John". She said in a comforting tone.

"Yeah, it was". He said as he pulled his pocket knife out of his pants and flicked the blade open. He cut a semi-circle in her head and pulled away the flesh to access the port cover. He popped it off and set it to the side before he reached down and removed her chip.

"John, it's not safe for that to be in the open, not now".

"I know, I want you to form a case around it, and a chain so I can put around my neck". John's voice was emotionless and his face set in stone, Annika knew he was bottling up his emotions to get the job done, but many would assume his a cold hearted man, no better than the machines. It was how John Connor coped.

Annika took the chip from him and created a ellipsoid shaped case around it followed by the small chain and put it around his neck.

"Thanks". He stated simply as he put the chip under his shirt. "I'm sorry about the arm". He said as he touched the cooled metal and she gave him a sad smile.

"We have a spare John, don't worry".

John smiled the same smile back before he reached down for Cameron's hand and pulled the ring off before sticking it on his little finger. Annika and Andy both saw it and realized what John had done that night.

"I'm sorry". She said as she laid her good hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be, it wasn't after you". He paused for a second before changing subjects. "How long until the HK gets here"?

"Ten minutes at top speed". She calculated and John nodded in response.

"Good, lets hide until it gets here".

Ten minutes later and the HK appeared above the tarmac, observing the burning structure as fire fighters arrived to put it out. I stayed out of sight as it kept searching for it's quarry's that John Henry had programmed it to find.

Annika sent out a screech in Machine language in a frequency no human could hear and the drone followed her voice before setting down several hundred yards away from the hanger next to them.

"Lets go, Annika your going to have hold three body's in place, can you do that"?

"Yes, but we will not be able to go very fast with all this weight".

"I know, but we can't leave Cameron or the other, both have tech in them that we cannot let Skynet have".

She nodded and soon they were all in place and about to take off when a silver snake appeared and took a blank silver humanoid shape.

"Weaver, we thought you got done in"!

"I'm not Weaver, I am the back up programming she designed to prevent capture in the event that she didn't have enough nanites to run her consciousness".

"Okay, get on, we need to leave". John said and the machine obeyed. Less than a minute later they were soaring through the air back to Crystal Peak; with all the weight it would take nearly an hour to get there.

* * *

**Same time, Crystal Peak**

Back at Crystal Peak John Henry ordered an evacuation when he noticed twenty HK drones approaching on radar.

They had 45 minutes before they got there and they had no jet to get out. Future John Connor began to position people in the hanger and around the surrounding mountain side with heavy weapons including rocket launchers.

Thirty-five minutes later most everyone out except the little girls and the T-1000 who is watching over them with Kara. John Henry was still in the CNC downloading everything he can about the time machine and Skynet off of the servers into his head before he sets the self destruct to all the equipment. As he does the mountain rumbles as the HK's begin their assault. He runs out of the CNC as it's computers explode and takes off to get the little ones and the two LMT's. As he continues down the hall the bunker shakes more and more, the lights flicker, and chucks of rock are falling in. John Henry realizes that the HK's must be carrying the same type of bunker bust missile that hit Bethany in the previous timeline. They shook a bunker apart by creating explosions that send out shock waves similar to those of an earthquake, causing bunkers even like Crystal Peak to collapse in on itself. He knew that they didn't have much time so he picked up the pace as light bulbs exploded around him.

He ran into the mess hall and sees them running toward him, the T-1000 carrying River and Kara Sydney while Savannah is running between them.

"The bunker will collapse soon, we don't have more than 4 minutes at this rate". John Henry said calmly as he picked up Savannah and joined them in their trek for the elevator.

"We know, we may get trapped down here if we do not hurry". Kara said in a slightly nervous voice.

Just then a good section of the ceiling gave way and came down on top of them. John Henry had managed to pull Kara, Sydney, Savannah, and himself out of the way as it came down, but not the other two.

Kara look horrified at seeing the T-1000 and the little cutie go down under the rubble, John Henry began to feel a mixture of emotions as he quickly began to pull the boulders off of the cave in. Kara put Sydney down and stretched herself from floor to ceiling in an attempt to hold it up just a little longer.

Two minutes later John Henry pulled a big boulder off and the T-1000 flowed out with River encased inside him.

"She has head trauma, I could not withstand the weight". John Henry noticed the emotions in his voice as ones of guilt and failure as he examined the unconscious little girl with a large, bloody wound on the left side of her head.

"She has brain damage in her left lobe, but she is still alive". He looked at the T-1000 and continued. "You will have to rebuild that section of her brain as best you can and repair the rest of the damage quickly or she will not last much longer".

The T-1000 nodded, sorrow filling his eyes, and poured himself into the wound. He restructured he skull and stopped the bleeding while he simultaneously began to stimulate neuron growth and directed the pathways as best he could. He knew that the structure was going to be more like an artificial neural net than what it was before, but he knew that it would be easier for him to make than trying to replicate something closer to the original.

He stood up with her in his arms and they all continued their journey to the elevator as he continued repairing the little girls brain. He knew that the left side of the brain focused more on logic and analyzing than creativity and for that he was thankful because that meant that what he was doing would allow her to process data more like a machine. He figured if she survived this that she would become the smartest human that had ever existed. He continued to monitor her vitals as he continued repairing her brain at breakneck speed. He knew what he was doing was draining his power and that he would be forced into standby not long after she was healed, he would have to make sure she was safe before powering down or Connor would most likely kill him.

They got on the elevator and headed up. John Henry was glad that Annika had chosen such a hardy elevator since it was the only out. They exited and they ran out into the hanger where most of the people were firing at the HK's. They were all behind cover of some sorts and with hardened soldiers and Bethany they were making some progress on them. Future John ran over to them with a sniper rifle in hand.

"About time! We need you three to help take out the darn HK's before they level the mountain"!

"I cannot help at the moment, I must save River". The T-1000 said as he looked into Connor's hard emerald eyes.

Connor saw the MPA seeping into her skull, but he knew he didn't have time to question further.

"Fine, stay back with Amanda over in the corner behind the crates"! He yelled as another missile hit the mountain, causing more lights to go out and more rock to fall. The LMT nodded and went over to Amanda.

Connor ran back to the front of the hanger and took aim with his weapon and shot another drone in the sensor dome, causing it to fly into the mountain. Bethany kept the HKs distracted with plasma fire while the others took them out, but it was harder than it looked considering half had missiles and the other Vulcan cannons. The missiles were for the mountain obviously, but the cannons... Connor was glad everyone was behind heavy cover. The missile ones flew higher and faster than the ones with the cannons who were tearing up anything that moved.

With Kara and John Henry now in the fight the odds leaned more in their favor now. Kara was invincible to the weapons at hand and John Henry was a perfect shot with a sniper rifle filled with Raufoss Mk211 rounds. Derek and Kyle on the other hand were having a hay day with the M2 Browning filled with the same ammo. The rest were sniping or using the rocket launchers to take down targets.

Things were also helped by the Jamming device that his younger version had built months back in case something like this happened, thus cutting off the machines from direct Skynet control. Dumber machines made the job a whole lot easier...

Ten minutes later and the battle was over with no casualties, but there were more than a few injuries from shrapnel and grazes, but not much else.

"We need to get out of here now! This whole mountain is unstable and we don't know if there is back up on the way"! Connor yelled and began to get everyone onto the cargo mover, making sure they took as many weapons as possible. When they were a few minutes from departure they heard a familiar whine in the air and everyone froze in fear.

Bethany ran out and looked up into the night sky looking for incoming bogeys. A smile broke out on her face when she identified their own HK coming in for landing.

"It ours"! She yelled back and everyone let out a breath they didn't know they were holding, save the machines of course.

The HK landed just inside the hanger and powered down. The T-1001 dropped off and formed a blank silver humanoid shape, but did nothing further. Annika pulled her MPA back onto herself and let Cameron and the black machine's endo fall to the floor. John got out of his restraints and jumped off before walking briskly toward Connor.

"Report".

"Bunker is unusable, the mountain is unstable, but there have been no casualties. All enemy machines terminated".

"Same, only it nearly took us all out". John said while pointing to the black machine on the ground. "Damaged Weaver pretty badly, Cameron's power cell has been destroyed and Annika's weapon arm is useless junk now. The jet has been destroyed as well as the hanger".

Connor's face was mostly unreadable, but he flinched when he heard about Cameron.

"How are you"?

John glared back in response.

"T-1001". John called to the machine and it walked over to him. "Go down into the bunker and get the remaining MPA in the lab, it should be enough to fully boot you".

The silver figure nodded and slithered down into the bunker.

"John, I have some other bad news for you". Connor said in a more sympathetic tone. John looked back at him as if asking what else could go wrong.

"Your daughter sustained heavy cranial trauma when part of the bunker caved in, the T-1000 was unable to keep shape".

John didn't respond, he just turned around and looked for the machine and his daughter, but the T-1000 was already walking over to him.

"I am currently trying to repair the damage to her skull and brain, but I cannot replicate the original pattern". John stayed silent as he digested that info while fighting the storm of emotions raging in his mind. He breathed unsteadily as he reigned them in as he reached out and touched her pretty face with an unsteady hand.

"Why didn't you protect her"? He spat out to the LMT. The machine looked up with anger in his eyes and responded with more emotion than John had ever heard from him.

"If I hadn't been there would be nothing left to save". He said in a slow angry tone.

Both Connor and John blinked at the response. John realized that he had no where to talk at the moment so he opted to just find out his baby girl's condition.

"I am having to rebuild part of her left lobe, but it will be structured in a more machine like way, I haven't the time for anything more complicated".

"How will this affect her"? He said as tears streamed down his face.

"I am not completely sure, but she will be different than before. She will also be smarter than any human has been or ever will be due to the changes, it will allow her to process data like us, calculate complex math in a fraction of the time it would take a human. Her learning ability will be unparalleled".

"Will she remember anything"?

The T-1000 shrugged a little before responding.

"Most likely not, but since she is so young she would have forgotten anyway. I am more concerned about personality changes, but there is nothing we can do but hope as you humans say".

John nodded sadly before turning to Connor.

"Lets move out, I'll take these two with me, you take Weaver, Annika and the two bodies".

"Alright, where are we headed to"?

"The nearest highway, route 395 east of here about 35 miles away, and then we need to head down to Independence airport south down the same road. Then we need to think about counter attack, maybe we can glean some info off of one of those downed drones when we find some shelter".

"We already grabbed a few CPUs". He paused before continuing. "We see you there then, and be careful, there's a storm brewing out there".

"Yeah I noticed, there's clouds all the way to Palmdale". John said as he put his helmet back on and walked back to the HK; the T-1000 followed with River in his arms. John locked himself into the restraints and the T-1000 cradled River in a pool of liquid metal while still healing her and attached himself to the drone by wrapping tendrils around its belly.

The drone powered up and took off while the truck's diesel engine roared to life. The truck tore through the valley at the fastest speed possible while John hovered in the HK.

They were making good progress out of the mountains when the HK's enhanced sensors picked up an incoming bogey.

"We've got incoming"! He yelled to the LMT behind him and activated the weapons systems. He broke decided to meet the lonely HK and take it out before it reached the others.

John accelerated the drone and locked onto the other before it hand a chance and opened fire; tearing big holes into it, causing it to explode. John turned the drone out of the way trying to avoid shrapnel.

He didn't know a fragment of the others drive turbine had tore into the hull and lodged itself into the circuit board housing. It unfortunately crossed two contacts on the board connector.

Crossing those two contacts activated the time circuits, causing the them to go into hot standby, in other words, all it needed was one command to activate the emitters.

The T-1000 did notice the power up and wondered why John would turn them on at a time like this, but he decided it irrelevant to his current task of completing River's healing process, which he was seconds from doing.

John turned the machine around and went back to join the rest of the group, thinking now the worst was past them. He calmed himself down by taking a deep breath and the adrenaline drained from him as his heart rate began to slow. He looked around at the sky and noticed the storm was picking up intensity, and had started to produce some rain.

He jumped in surprise when a lightning bolt struck not half a mile away. He knew he couldn't get hit by lightning, he and his daughter might die, not to mention the drone would fall from the sky.

He ran a system diagnostic to make sure everything was in working order, he didn't want any more deadly surprises. As he read the log he noticed that it said the time machine was in hot standby, all ready to go at his command. He tried turning it off but the system wouldn't respond. Another lightning bolt struck closer to him this time so he decided to descend to a low altitude into the valley to avoid being the closest conductive object to the storm.

When he tried to change course, things didn't go as planned. The drone's systems began to fail due to some sort of software error. The drone engines quit and began to fall. When John's HUD flickered and shut off he knew they were in deep trouble.

He had lost control and they were about to face plant onto the valley floor, nearly.

"I've lost control, get her to safety"! John Connor yelled out to the T-1000 who had just finished repairs on the little girl. He didn't respond, he knew he couldn't save John Connor in time, so he just surrounded River's little body and began detaching himself from the drone.

The T-1000 was no more than thirty feet from the falling drone when a lightning bolt came out of the dark, angry clouds and struck the time traveling HK drone.

John Connor should have died, but thanks to the multiple system failures the electromagnet that shaped the electroplasma shield had activated, forming a protective barrier around the drone.

The energy feedback into the drone was massive, massive enough to overload the plasma capacitor beyond capacity and flood the extra energy out through the emitters. Only it was too much for the emitters to handle, causing streams of charged plasma to shoot out of the various ports. The electromagnet directed the supercharged plasma streams in front of the drone where the beams met at a single point. The overcharged beams didn't create a momentary tear in the space time continuum like the bolts did, no they created a temporal hole that would stay open much longer than that.

The HK went through the hole in time and was quickly followed by the T-1000 plummeting behind it. Seconds later the tear collapsed in on itself and created a massive explosion that light up the sky like no bolt of lightning ever had.

The only thing to be heard after the smoke cleared was the muffled yell of mother crying out for her son...

* * *

**A/N: Those of you who hate me right now, calm down, this is not the end of the story.**

**The story will be continued in _Override Fate: Cause and Effect_, this will be a crossover fic, but will not be labeled as such.**

**If anyone has been paying attention they will guess what universe I will be mixing in with our characters.**

**If you do not like crossovers, I am sorry, but this idea popped in my head about a month ago and it has grown ever since.**

**The first chapter of this story will be posted soon.**

**REVIEW this final chapter of the Override Fate and tell me your thoughts on the story as whole so far!**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and read this story, I appreciate the support.**


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